George Floyd killing: Last Minneapolis police officer sentenced to nearly five years
The last former Minneapolis police officer has been sentenced to nearly five years for his role in the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Tou Thao, who held bystanders back as Derek Chauvin knelt on Mr Floyd‘s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes, has been sentenced to four years and nine months for aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Thao is the fourth and final officer sentenced in the killing of Mr Floyd, a black man, which sparked worldwide protests over police brutality and racism across the US.
Before sentencing, Thao insisted in court he “didn’t intend to try hurt anyone” and “did the best that I thought I could”.
“I was hoping for a little more remorse, regret, acknowledgment of some responsibility,” Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill said before handing the sentence.
In his 177-page ruling, the judge said Thao’s actions separated Chauvin and two other officers from the crowd, including an emergency medical technician, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Mr Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid.
White officer Chauvin knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes on 25 May 2020, as bystander video captured the 46-year-old yelling: “I can’t breathe”. Police had suspected Mr Floyd of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a nearby store.
Chauvin was convicted in June 2021 of state charges of murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years.
George Floyd was killed while under arrest in Minneapolis in May 2020
Thao had rejected a plea bargain saying it “would be lying” to plead guilty when he did not think he was in the wrong. Lawyers for Thao did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
He was found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting manslaughter in the second degree for his role in Mr Floyd’s death in May.
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Video of George Floyd officer’s interrogation
The sentence will run concurrently with the three-and-a-half years Thao previously received on a federal conviction of violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.
The other two officers at the scene, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng, restrained Mr Floyd’s knees and buttocks while Chauvin knelt on his neck.
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From top left: J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao
Lane and Kueng pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Lane was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison while Kueng was sentenced to three years.
Last year, Chauvin received a concurrent sentence of 21 years in prison on federal charges of violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.
Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalised following a car crash in New Hampshire, a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor said.
Mr Giuliani suffered “a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg” when his vehicle was struck from behind while driving on a highway near Manchester on Saturday evening, according to Michael Ragusa, Mr Giuliani’s head of security.
“He sustained injuries but is in good spirits and recovering tremendously,” Mr Ragusa said in a statement on X, adding: “This was not a targeted attack.”
Mr Giuliani was in a rental car and “no one knew it was him”, according to Mr Ragusa.
His head of security said the 81-year-old had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident” and contacted police on her behalf. The crash shortly after was “random and unrelated” to the domestic violence incident, Mr Ragusa said.
Rudy Giuliani attended Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via Reuters
Mr Giuliani, who worked as an attorney for Donald Trump in his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is expected to be released from hospital in a few days.
His son, Andrew Giuliani, thanked people for reaching out after hearing about his father’s accident, writing on X: “Your prayers mean the world.”
“As a son, I can tell you that I’m honored to have a Dad that I can call the toughest SOB I’ve ever seen,” he added.
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US
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
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