Tou Thao
Tou Thao was a veteran officer in the Minneapolis Police Department for close to ten years, when he a viral video seemed to show him playing a supporting role in the controversial killing of George Floyd, on May 25, 2020.[1]
Personal life
Thao's parents were refugees, from Laos, from the Hmong ethnic group, but he was born and raised in the Minneapolis area.[2] He speaks the Hmong language. He is married, with children.[3]
Police career
Thao had been with the Minneapolis Police for eleven years at the time of the killing of George Floyd.[2] Personnel records released to the Press in early June 2020 showed his conduct had been reviewed six times by a Police board. The city made a $25,000 settlement over a 2017 incident. An individual believed Thao and another officer were handcuffing him because they had a genuine arrest warrant, and were taking him to the station, only to have them administer a beating so brutal it chipped his teeth.
Following George Floyd's death
Thao's lawyer issued a statement, on May 30, 2020, stating that Thao was somewhere safe, having left Minnesota.[4]
Thao, his partner, Derek Chauvin, and two officers with less than a week of active duty, were fired shortly after the video went viral.[1] Chauvin was first charged with third degree murder.[5] On June 3, 2020, prosecutors escalated his charges to second degree murder, and charged Thao and the other two officers with aiding and abetting murder.
Reporters have found that the Minneapolis Police Department had policies, on the books, that should have called for the junior officers to have intervened, and prevented Chauvin, the senior officer, from killing Floyd.[6] The viral video recorded both Thomas K. Lane and Andrew Keung voicing concerns that Chauvin's use of force was putting Floyd at risk. The video shows Thao standing between the crowd of onlookers who had gathered and his three colleagues who were restraining Floyd.[7] The video shows Thao shove a bystander who may have been approaching the officers to intervene.
Although the four officers were prompty fired, and soon faced criminal charges, they continued to hold licenses to work as police officers.[8] According to the Star Tribune the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) did not start a review of their licenses to work as police officers until June 17, 2020.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bernard Condon; Todd Richmond; Michael R. Sisak. "What to know about 4 officers charged in George Floyd's death". ABC7 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605004540/https://abc7.com/6229951/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jennifer Bjorhus; Liz Sawyer (2020-06-04). "Personnel records shed light on four Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's death". Star Tribune (Minneapolis). Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605145223/https://www.startribune.com/personnel-records-shed-light-on-four-minneapolis-police-officers-charged-in-george-floyd-death/571019902/. Retrieved 2020-06-24. "Thao and another officer were the subjects of a 2017 police brutality lawsuit. Lamar Ferguson alleged that in 2014 the two officers told him they were serving a warrant for his arrest, then beat him, breaking his teeth, while he was handcuffed. The city of Minneapolis paid $25,000 to settle the civil rights case."
- ↑ Chao Xiong (2020-06-05). "Two ex-Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's death cast blame on more senior colleague". Star Tribune (Minneapolis). Archived from the original on 2020-06-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20200621001805/https://www.startribune.com/two-fired-minneapolis-police-officers-charged-in-george-floyd-death-cast-blame-on-derek-chauvin/571009922/. Retrieved 2020-06-24. "Thao is a lifelong resident of the metro area, is married and has children, Paule said in arguing for a lower bail."
- ↑ Jennifer Bjorhus (2020-05-30). "Derek Chauvin in custody; other officers lay low". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2020-05-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20200531035855/https://www.startribune.com/a-deeper-look-at-the-four-officers-fired-after-george-floyd-death/570885592/. Retrieved 2020-06-24. "Tou Thao, videotaped watching as Chauvin continued to press on Floyd’s neck with his knee, has left Minnesota, his lawyer confirmed Friday. Criminal defense attorney Robert Paule said Thao is “safely elsewhere” and that he couldn’t comment further."
- ↑ Brendan O'Brien (2020-06-03). "New charges against Minneapolis policemen as protests continue". Reuters (Minneapolis). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-protests/new-charges-against-minneapolis-policemen-as-protests-continue-idUSKBN23A1FY. Retrieved 2020-06-24. "The three men - Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao - have also been taken into custody. Aiding and abetting second-degree murder carries the same maximum punishment as the underlying offense - 40 years in prison."
- ↑ Bernard Condon; Todd Richmond (2020-06-07). "Minneapolis requires cops to stop unreasonable force, but officers in George Floyd's arrest didn't intervene". ABC 7 News. https://abc7news.com/j-alexander-kueng-thomas-lane-tou-thao-derek-chauvin/6236151/. Retrieved 2020-06-24. "Lane held Floyd's legs and Kueng held his back while Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd's head and neck. That's when Floyd repeatedly said "I can't breathe, "Mama" and "please." At one point, Floyd said, "I'm about to die." Nevertheless, Chauvin, Lane and Kueng didn't move. And a fourth officer, Tou Thao, continued standing nearby keeping onlookers back."
- ↑ Bill Chappell (2020-06-03). "Chauvin And 3 Former Officers Face New Charges Over George Floyd's Death". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605183728/https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/868910542/chauvin-and-3-former-officers-face-new-charges-over-george-floyds-death. "After Thao watched his fellow officers subduing Floyd, the complaint states, 'The defendant then became concerned about a number of citizens who had gathered and were watching the officers subdue Mr. Floyd, and potential traffic concerns, and so the defendant stood between those citizens and the three officers.' It adds, 'When one citizen stepped off the curb, imploring Chauvin to get off of Mr. Floyd, the defendant put his hands on the citizen to keep him back.'"
- ↑ Greg Stanley (2020-06-17). "Minnesota licensing board to review four ex-officers' roles in George Floyd killing: POST Board has the power to revoke the four former Mpls. cops' licenses.". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2020-06-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20200618030832/https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-licensing-board-to-review-four-ex-officers-roles-in-george-floyd-killing/571300012/. Retrieved 2020-06-24. "While all four officers who have been charged in the killing of Floyd were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department, they are still licensed Minnesota peace officers."
