Most of the police officers directly involved in the George Floyd case have been released on bond.
According to Hennepin County jail records, Tou Thao, 34, posted a $750,00- bond on Saturday. He is the third officer in the George Floyd case to be released on bond, along with Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, who were also released on bond last month for the same amount.
Together the three officers all face counts for aiding and abetting second-degree murder, on top of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Their releases now mean that of the four officers arrested in the case, only one currently remains behind bars: Derek Chauvin. Chauvin’s bond is set at $1 million – much higher than his fellow officers as he was caught on camera pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck during an arrest on May 25th. Floyd died while in police custody, leading to nationwide protests and riots.
In the same video, Thao is seen standing by and performing crowd control as Chauvin places his knee on Floyd’s neck, with Floyd telling Chauvin “I can’t breathe, officer.”
All four officers were immediately terminated and soon charged for their alleged roles in Floyd’s death. They all also appeared in a Hennepin County courtroom last week where representatives for all four officers said TV cameras should be permitted in the courtroom trial.
President Trump’s administration began a federal investigation into Floyd’s death soon after it occurred, with the president decrying the case as a “disgrace” to law enforcement, while calling for police reform.
“They have to be trained in a proper manner,” Trump said. “They have to do it right.”
Trump later signed and rolled out an executive order to award federal funding to police departments that emphasize de-escalation tactics in training, collaborate more closely with local social workers, and ban unnecessary uses of potentially lethal force such as chokeholds.
