ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) 鈥� Three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted Thursday of as a federal jury rejected their arguments that inexperience, improper training or the distraction of shouting bystanders excused them from failing to prevent Floyd鈥檚 killing.
were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as the 46-year-old Black man was pinned under fellow Officer Derek Chauvin's knee for 9 1/2 minutes while handcuffed, facedown on the street on Kueng knelt on Floyd鈥檚 back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back.
Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin in the videotaped killing that sparked protests in Minneapolis and around the globe as part of
Floyd鈥檚 brother Philonise Floyd called the verdicts 鈥渁ccountability,鈥� but added: 鈥淭here can never be justice because I can never get George back.鈥�
And Floyd鈥檚 nephew Brandon Williams said he hoped the verdicts would change laws and policies to 鈥減rotect people from these situations.鈥� He also said the outcome 鈥渟ends a message that says, if you murder or use excessive or deadly force, there鈥檚 consequences that follow.鈥�
Lane shook his head and looked at his attorney as his verdict was read. Thao and Kueng showed no visible emotion. Their attorneys declined to comment immediately afterward.
Charles Kovats, acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, called the convictions a reminder that all sworn law enforcement officers have a
鈥淭hese officers had a moral responsibility, a legal obligation and a duty to intervene, and by failing to do so, they committed a crime,鈥� Kovats said.
Chauvin and Thao went to the scene to help rookies Kueng and Lane after they responded to a call that Floyd used a counterfeit $20 bill at a corner store. Floyd struggled with officers as they tried to put him in a police SUV.
prosecutors sought to show that the officers violated their training, including when they failed to move Floyd or give him CPR. Prosecutors argued that Floyd鈥檚 condition was so serious that even bystanders without basic medical training could see he needed help, but that the officers 鈥渃hose to do nothing.鈥�
The defense said their training was inadequate. Kueng and Lane both said they deferred to Chauvin as the senior officer at the scene. Thao testified that he relied on the other officers to care for Floyd鈥檚 medical needs as his attention was elsewhere.
of eight women and four men that appeared to be all-white reached the verdicts after about two days of deliberations. The court did not released demographics such as race or age. Lane is white, Kueng is Black and Thao is Hmong American.
The former officers remain free on bond pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. Conviction of a federal civil rights violation that results in death is punishable by life in prison or even death, but such sentences are extremely rare. Federal sentencing guidelines rely on complicated formulas that indicate the officers would get much less.
Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of murder last year in state court and pleaded guilty in December in the federal case. He was sentenced to A sentencing date has not yet been set in the federal case, but both sides agreed Chauvin should face a sentence ranging from 20 to 25 years.
Public reaction to Thursday's verdicts was muted, with only a tiny handful of protesters visible outside the courthouse, which was surrounded by fencing throughout the trial. On the day Chauvin was convicted, many people listened live as his verdicts were read and crowded into the square where he died for a celebration afterward. That trial was livestreamed, while this one was not.
Lane, Kueng and Thao also in June on state charges alleging that they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter.
The verdicts come just days after the on hate crimes charges in Georgia in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased and shot in February 2020.
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Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Williams is Floyd's nephew, not his cousin, and to say Kueng, not Lane, was charged with failing to intervene.
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Find AP鈥檚 full coverage of the killing of George Floyd at:
Amy Forliti, Steve Karnowski And Tammy Webber, The Associated Press