Former Cop Charged In George Floyd’s Death Claims Wants Charges Dropped
The cops involved in the death of George Floyd are fighting for their freedom and their lawyers are crafting their defense.
Tou Thao, who was arrested and charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in the May 25 killing, is claiming there was no way for him to know his fellow cops were going to kill Floyd.
According to filed court docs, his attorney, Robert M. Paule, argued prosecutors failed to show that Thao “knew former officer Derek Chauvin and others were going to commit a crime and intended his presence or actions to further the commission of that crime.”
The complaint also states the prosecution“fails to establish by probable cause that Mr. Thao had the requisite mental state for aiding and abetting.”
His team is demanding all charges be dropped by the next court hearing, which is on September 11.
On May 29, Derek Chauvin, the man who had his knee in Floyd’s neck for eight minutes, was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and arrested on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. On June 3, his charges were upgraded to second-degree murder by the state’s Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Thao, Thomas Lane, 37 and J. Alexander Keung, 26, were also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting on June 3.
Thao, Keung and Lane are currently out on bail.
BET has been covering every angle of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.
