All rights reserved. Community activist Michael Thao, who is not related to Tou Thao, helped raise money for the officer’s bail so that he could be home with his wife and two young children. After a long pause, Thao said: “This is a horrible feeling, as an officer hopes to go through their career not dealing with a situation like this when someone dies. Tou Thao grew up in Brooklyn Park and now lives in Coon Rapids. Cahill also found probable cause for the aiding and abetting charges to proceed against Lane, Kueng and Thao, saying they could be found criminally liable if prosecutors can prove they intentionally aided or conspired with Chauvin, and that they knew Chauvin was committing a crime at the time. After Cahill's ruling, Gov. He worked security at Fairview Riverside Hospital in Minneapolis until he was rehired as a police officer in 2012. Chauvin, a 19-year veteran, stepped in to pin Floyd, stomach-down, by kneeling on his neck. They are scheduled to stand trial in March. Several neighbors said Thao moved into his home with his extended family in 2018. … It’s affected my family and taken a mental toll.”. Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office is now the lead prosecutor on the case. A sign that says “Welcome Y’all” sits in the front yard, though a man who answered the door told a reporter to leave the property. Over the years, he had six police conduct complaints filed against him. Follow Amy Forliti on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyforliti. Although he’s not a member of the Minnesota Asian Peace Officers Association, it issued a statement about the incident on its Facebook page. “Especially to younger, low-income families because that’s where I came from,” Thao told the Star Tribune in Facebook messenger exchange. He and officer Derek Chauvin, his partner for the evening, could have skipped the call from a Cup Foods employee who reported that Floyd had tried to pass a fake $20 bill. Thao said that he had never seen that move before but he knew that trainers have instructed officers to use their knee as leverage. “I would rather not use force and go the easier way,” Thao said in the deposition.
This story has been corrected to show the name of one of the officers charged in Floyd's death is J. Kueng, not J. Jueng.
Thao said he enjoys police work “because it isn’t a typical desk job and I enjoy helping the folks out the most.” He’s mainly been assigned to the Third Precinct on the city’s South Side.
He said he relied on the arresting officers to take care of Floyd. “The ACLU of Minnesota expected today’s ruling and believes it’s an appropriate step in this legal process,” ACLU of Minnesota executive director John Gordon said in a statement. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill's ruling, dated Wednesday and made public Thursday, found probable cause for Chauvin to be tried on one count of unintentional second-degree murder and one count of second-degree manslaughter. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter. On the association’s Facebook page, Samantha Xiong wrote that the statement needed a sharper edge. “Officers do what they have to do in the line of duty,” he said. Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard in anticipation of protests. 8 years after building his green dream home, Don Shelby strives to go even greener, Maple Grove man dies in car-semi crash in Lake Elmo, Fewer get-out-the-vote events might lower student turnout, Minneapolis police overtime in 2 weeks after Floyd death: $3.3M, Those who knew ex-officer struggle to understand decisions, Descended from cops, he saw his Mpls. He kneed Ferguson several times in the face and chest until he was subdued by the other officer. His decision May 25 to help two rookie officers on what seemed a routine call involving George Floyd would be his last for the department. Tou Thao grew up in Brooklyn Park and now lives in Coon Rapids. Thao said that he had never seen that move before but he knew that trainers have instructed officers to use their knee as leverage. In 2012 and 2017, Thao tried to manipulate domestic-abuse victims to avoid writing reports, according to court filings. He also said Chauvin’s decision to continue kneeling on Floyd’s neck after he went silent and motionless “is strong evidence of Chauvin’s intent to inflict bodily harm.”. Robert Paule, Thao’s attorney, declined repeated requests for comment, but said on Saturday night that his client told him he never spoke to the Star Tribune through Facebook Messenger. Thao stepped toward a growing, agitated crowd, and waved along passing vehicles. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. Attorney Ben Crump said in a statement that Floyd’s family is grateful most of the counts were preserved, including the more serious second-degree murder count, “for which we expect a conviction, based on the clear and evident use of excessive force that we all saw on video.”. Maigna Thao,, who isn’t related to the officer, said she had hoped for discussions about what went wrong in Floyd’s arrest and acknowledgment that police actions were inappropriate, “even if it means not being on the same side as your fellow Hmong police brother.”. Feds say Texas adherent of far-right group fired on precinct building, conspired with cop killer to ignite civil war. “His expediency and dishonesty” were the subject of an Office of Police Conduct Review complaint in 2017, state prosecutors wrote. Then in 2014, Thao and another officer were accused of punching, kicking and kneeing an unarmed Black man in handcuffs. He worked security at Fairview Riverside Hospital in Minneapolis until he was rehired as a police officer in 2012. Five were closed without discipline; one remained open at the time of his firing. Several neighbors said Thao moved into his home with his extended family in 2018. Both Chauvin and Thao have been involved in multiple … Cahill said Thao never physically restrained Floyd, but could see and hear what was happening, and his actions to keep the crowd away allowed the restraint of Floyd to continue. Thao was hired in 2008 to become a community service officer with the Minneapolis Police Department, a program that works to improve employee diversity. If you need help with WJXT’s or WCWJ's FCC public inspection file, call (904) 393-9801. He previously covered crime, courts and spent two sessions at the Legislature. Thao’s decision May 25 to help two rookie officers on what seemed a routine call involving Floyd would be his last for the department. But Thao continued on. USA NEWS . “In this court's view, with one exception, the State has met its burden of showing probable cause that warrants proceeding to trial against each of these Defendants on each of the criminal charges the State has filed against them,” Cahill wrote. The more serious second-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin remains. When he was a rookie, a training officer cited him eight times for being dishonest or taking shortcuts. “If y’all wanted to really hold each other accountable then y’all would have called TOU THAO flat OUT instead of dancing around the fire to make sure y’all don’t get dragged either,” Xiong said. Tou Thao faces two charges in George Floyd’s death. The fact that Lane asked if Floyd should be rolled to a recovery position shows Lane knew “the consequences of keeping Floyd pinned face-down to the ground” but elected to “stay the course,” Cahill said.
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