George Floyd police officer handed heavier sentence over ‘lack of remorse’

Tou Thao denies any responsibility for the death and spoke about his growth as a Christian during 340 days behind bars

Tou Thao listens as prosecutor Erin Eldridge speaks during his sentencing hearing
Tou Thao listens as prosecutor Erin Eldridge speaks during his sentencing hearing Credit: Leila Navidi/AP

A police officer convicted over the murder of George Floyd has been handed a heavier sentence because the judge said he lacked remorse.

Tou Thao was sentenced to almost five years in prison in a state court in Minneapolis for holding back bystanders during the murder of Mr Floyd, who died in May 2020 when another officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for almost 10 minutes.

Thao previously said he had acted as a “human traffic cone” by keeping bystanders away from the scene as Mr Floyd pleaded for his life and said: “I can’t breathe.”

The incident was captured on video by an onlooker and triggered a worldwide outpouring of anger over police brutality towards black people.

Biblical references

At the hearing on Monday, Thao denied any responsibility for Mr Floyd’s death and spoke about his growth as a Christian during his 340 days behind bars.

In remarks littered with biblical references, he drew parallels with the sufferings and false accusations endured by Job and Jesus.

“I did not commit these crimes,” he said. “My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.”

Peter Cahill, the Hennepin County judge who convicted Thao in May, said he had imposed a harsher sentence because of his lack of remorse for his actions.

As he sentenced him to four years and nine months behind bars, Mr Cahill said he was hoping “for more than preaching” from Thao.

“After three years of reflection, I was hoping for a little more remorse,” he said.

Top end of sentence range

The sentence is at the top end of the range recommended under state guidelines, where the standard sentence is four years.

The sentence was more than the 51 months that prosecutors had sought and the 41 months requested by Thao’s attorney, Robert Paule.

Thao’s sentence will run concurrently with a three-and-a-half year sentence for his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge, which an appeals court upheld on Friday.

He will be returned to a federal prison to finish the sentence before he is transferred to a Minnesota state prison to serve out the remaining few months with credit for time served.

Mr Paule, who called Thao “a good and decent man with a family” in court, said afterwards that they will appeal in both the state and federal cases. He declined to comment further.