George Floyd family members angered by ex-cop’s 2 1/2-year sentence

Family members of George Floyd say they’re angered at a federal judge’s sentence Thursday of 2 1/2 years for a former Minneapolis police officer convicted of a civil rights violation in Floyd’s killing.

US District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced Thomas Lane well below the 5 1/4 years that was the bottom of a range called for in sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors had asked Magnuson to sentence Lane to up to 6 1/2 years.

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They argued that Lane, who is white, had a chance to stop the restraint that killed Floyd, who was Black, but chose not to.

Philonise Floyd, one of Floyd’s brothers, called it “insulting that he didn’t get the maximum amount of time.” He said Lane was “an accessory to murder” and said he thinks “the whole criminal system needs to be torn down and rebuilt.”

A nephew of Floyd’s, Brandon Williams, said he was “angry and fed up.”

Lane’s attorney had argued that he twice asked his colleagues if Floyd should be turned on his side as officers restrained him for more than 9 minutes face down and in handcuffs, as he said that he couldn’t breathe and eventually grew still.

Magnuson faulted the Minneapolis Police Department for sending Lane on a call with another rookie officer. And he said he had never received more letters of support for a defendant than he got for Lane.

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