Former officer sentenced to nearly five years for role in George Floyd’s death

Former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao, left, was sentenced to four years and nine months for his role in the death of George Floyd (David Joles/Star Tribune/AP)

Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced to four years and nine months.

Thao had testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered around as former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes while the black man pleaded for his life on May 25 2020.