Show biz legend Donny Osmond (image via official Facebook)
Former Cop Gets 2.5 Years In Prison For Death Of George Floyd
Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane (mugshot)
News Round-Up: May 18, 2022
AskGayBros discussed things about being gay straight people will never get (image via Depositphotos)
Former Police Officers Found Guilty Of Violating George Floyd’s Civil Rights
L-R Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane (mug shots)
Other Officers Involved In George Floyd Death Go On Trial
Months after the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd, the other three officers who were present during the incident are going on trial. Continue reading “Other Officers Involved In George Floyd Death Go On Trial”
News Round-Up: December 13, 2021
Catching up on the day’s headlines: • Human Rights Campaign: A new report based on the United States Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey said 8% of respondents identified as LGBTQ. Another 2% said their sexual orientation is something other than gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight. Continue reading “News Round-Up: December 13, 2021”
4 Ex-Cops Indicted By Federal Grand Jury In George Floyd Case
George Floyd, handcuffed on the ground as Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on his neck
The indictment charges Mr. Chauvin, 45, and other former Minneapolis Police Department officers Tou Thao, 35, J. Alexander Kueng, 27, and Thomas Lane, 38, with willfully depriving Mr. Floyd of his constitutional civil rights during his arrest.
The indictment alleges that by holding his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck and his right knee on his back and arm as he lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting, Mr. Chauvin used unconstitutional, unreasonable force that resulted in Mr. Floyd’s death.
Mr. Thao and Mr. Kueng were charged with willfully failing to stop Mr. Chauvin from using unreasonable force. All four defendants saw Mr. Floyd lying on the ground in need of medical care and willfully failed to aid him, depriving him of his constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which included Mr. Floyd’s right to be free from an officer’s deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, the indictment said.
Chauvin, who was found guilty on state charges of murder and manslaughter in regard to the incident, was also indicted for another incident involving a 14-year-old boy in 2017. Chauvin reportedly held the teen by the neck and beat him on the head with a flashlight before holding the teen down with his knee on his neck while handcuffed face down on the ground. Sound familiar? Thao, Kueng, and Lane still face state charges in the Floyd incident with the trial scheduled for August.
Derek Chauvin Found Guilty On All Charges
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer has been convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin was captured on video last May kneeling on the neck of Floyd during the course of an arrest until he lost consciousness and died. From the New York Times:
After deliberating for about 10 hours over two days following an emotional trial that lasted three weeks, the jury found Mr. Chauvin, who is white, guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter for the killing of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, on a street corner last year on Memorial Day.
Mr. Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in the coming weeks but is likely to receive far less time. The presumptive sentence for second-degree murder is 12.5 years, according to Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, although the state has asked for a higher sentence.
Read the full article here. Derrick Johnson, CEO and president of the NAACP, issued this statement:
“While justice landed Derek Chauvin behind bars for killing George Floyd, no amount of justice will bring Gianna’s father back. The same way a reasonable police officer would never suffocate an unarmed man to death, a reasonable justice system would recognize its roots in white supremacy and end qualified immunity. Police are here to protect, not lynch. We will not rest until all in our community have the right to breathe.”
#Justice
BREAKING: Derek Chauvin found guilty on all three counts in the death of George Floyd. https://t.co/751SUaenzx pic.twitter.com/SPxpJJq4F9
— ABC News (@ABC) April 20, 2021
President Biden and VP Harris call the Floyd family after the GUILTY verdict! Thank you @POTUS & @VP for your support! We hope that we can count on you for the police reform we NEED in America! ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/cg4V2D5tlI
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) April 20, 2021
Today, a jury did the right thing. But true justice requires much more. Michelle and I send our prayers to the Floyd family, and we stand with all those who are committed to guaranteeing every American the full measure of justice that George and so many others have been denied. pic.twitter.com/mihZQHqACV
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 20, 2021
Guilty. The Hennepin County jury’s #verdict is a historic move for accountability in the #DerekChauvinTrial for the murder of George Floyd.
No verdict can correct the injustice done to George Floyd, his loved ones & their community. And so our fight must continue. (1/5) — Rashad Robinson (@rashadrobinson) April 20, 2021
Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner and former DC Police Chief Charles Ramsey says of the effects of the Chauvin ruling on police: “This doesn’t hurt them. It supports them.”
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) April 20, 2021
Derek Chauvin almost was not even charged with 2nd-degree unintentional murder, the most serious of the 3 charges of which he was found guilty today — and it only took a jury of his peers about 10 hours to decide it was a charge of which he was guilty.
— Matthew Rettenmund (@mattrett) April 20, 2021
almost like there’s a difference between a murderer going free and not.
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) April 20, 2021
Rest in power George Floyd. pic.twitter.com/OcqcKHnUGa
— Johanna Fuentes (@jfuentes) April 20, 2021
Verdict Reached In Derek Chauvin Trial
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (screen capture)
The panel of seven women and five men began deliberating Monday after three weeks of witness testimony.
Chauvin is charged with second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The third-degree murder charge had initially been dismissed, but it was reinstated after an appeals court ruling in an unrelated case established new grounds for it days before jury selection started.
Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. Third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. Second-degree manslaughter is punishable by up to 10 years.
Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as Floyd, who was Black, was handcuffed and lying on the ground.
During the trial, prosecutors called 38 witnesses. The defense called seven witnesses, two of whom were experts.
Derek Chauvin Invokes 5th Amendment Declining To Testify
Former police officer Derek Chauvin (screen capture)
Nearing the end of the defense’s case, Mr. Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric J. Nelson, asked Mr. Chauvin whether he would like to testify in his own defense.
Mr. Nelson said he and Mr. Chauvin have had repeated conversations on the matter, including a “lengthy meeting” Wednesday night. Mr. Chauvin, who removed his mask to answer Mr. Nelson’s questions, chose to waive his right to testify.
The judge questioned Chauvin to make sure that he made his decision not to testify on his own in order to prevent any later claim that he was ill-advised by his defense. Testimony in the case has now concluded and closing arguments will be presented on Monday.
Derek Chauvin takes his mask off and speaks publicly for the first time. pic.twitter.com/8LIsVhFBX5
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) April 15, 2021
The defense in the Chauvin case has rested. The defendant opted not to testify. The case presented by the defense was extremely weak and actually strengthened the prosecution’s case, IMO.
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) April 15, 2021