Dec. 9 (UPI) — A former Minneapolis police officer was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter in the murder of George Floyd.
J. Alexander Kueng was to appear virtually in a Minnesota courtroom on Friday morning, but the hearing was delayed due to connection difficulties. The court reconvened in the afternoon at which point Kueng was sentenced.
Kueng is currently serving a three-year federal prison sentence in Ohio after he was convicted of depriving George Floyd of his civil rights. He will serve his state sentence concurrently with his federal sentence.
The former police officer pleaded guilty in October to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. The terms of the plea agreement called for Kueng to serve 42 months in prison.
Kueng, who was in his first week as an officer with the Minneapolis Police Department, helped Derek Chauvin hold Floyd, an unarmed Black man, down as he struggled to breathe. Floyd’s death in May 2020 sparked nationwide protests.
More than 23 million people watched the televised trial, which Cahill presided over, as Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
He was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on state murder charges in 2021 and pleaded guilty in July to federal charges.
