Jonathan Allen

ST. PAUL, Minn. (Reuters). -Tou Tho, one former Minneapolis officer on trial for violating George Floyd’s civil rights, said Tuesday to a jury that he had no idea the Black man was being asphyxiated, while a White officer knelt over his neck for nine minute.

Thao, 36 years old, testified that he believed Floyd was still breathing because he had never seen the other officers try to revive him like they were instructed to.

Thao, 36 is currently being trial at the U.S. District Court, St. Paul, along with J. Alexander Kueng (and Thomas Lane). They are all accused of violating Floyd’s right to medical care while he was dying.

The arrest of Chauvin on a Minneapolis street on May 25, 2020 was captured on cell phone video. This led to demonstrations in many cities against police brutality and racism. Chauvin was sentenced last year in separate proceedings for Floyd’s murder.

The federal prosecutors who had been presenting their case for three weeks have concluded on Monday.

Thao testified to show jurors that his handling of a chaotic scene was consistent with his training, and with care for Floyd and the officers who arrested him. This is the first time that any officer involved in the arrest has made extensive public comments.

You can see him on video just a few feet away from Floyd. Chauvin is seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck while he holds onto the handcuffs for over nine minutes. Floyd was charged with using a counterfeit $20 bill and the arrest took place outside of a grocery store.

Robert Paule, Thao’s defense lawyer, asked him if he thought Chauvin and other officers at Floyd were monitoring his pulse. Thao claimed he had been falsely assured that none of the officers on top of Floyd performed cardiopulmonary rescue.

Thao stated, in agreement with his lawyer, that he believed that if a person is not breathing, they are doing CPR.

Floyd did not receive any medical assistance until the ambulance took his limp body to the nearest hospital. The transport was a short time after Floyd had fallen unresponsive.

Thao said that he was a witness who confirmed the call of an ambulance with officers and that his role was to act as “human traffic cone”, making sure that all traffic is clear.

Jurors saw video recorded by Thao with his body-worn camera. It shows Thao arriving in Kueng’s car to locate Lane trying to get Floyd, who is handcuffed, to sit back in a police van. Floyd shouts out repeatedly that he cannot breathe because he’s claustrophobic.

Thao said, not to be deceive, but I’ve never witnessed this much struggle. He claimed that he had been an officer for eighteen years. He was clearly under the influence.

Floyd appeared incoherent and difficult to calm and he was concerned that Floyd may be suffering from a toxic reaction to drugs. A later autopsy found that Floyd was a victim to fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) and methamphetamine.

Thao explained that during training, it was common to observe an officer standing on top of a person who is being held and using his knees to hold the arrested down. The photos of Thao using these restraints by his fellow classmates were presented to the jurors.

“Did you ever learn that kneeling was inexcusable?” Paule asked his client.

“No,” Thao replied.

A ‘STRICT’ UPBRINGING

Thao said to the jury that his parents, Hmong refugees from Laos, fled the country to America before Thao was born. According to Thao, he was third in seven siblings and that his parents couldn’t afford to provide them with more than one meal per day.

According to him, his inspiration to be a cop came from his childhood experience helping Minneapolis officers arrest Thao’s abusive father. Thao had threatened Thao’s mother with a gun and Thao.

Thao, who was on the brink of tears when he spoke of his childhood memories of peaceful times and the aftermath of his arrest, said that they were “the two most peaceful days” of her childhood.

Based on records from the police, court filings show that Thao was arrested at least seven time while being training in the field. He is accused of trying to avoid his duties by pretending not be aware of violations to cut down his workload.

Federal officers also accused Chauvin of violating Floyd’s civil rights. He pleaded guilty to the charges in December.

Lane and Kueng have both indicated that they would also testify. Thao, Lane, and Kueng will also be facing a state trial on June 12th for the charges that they assisted and encouraged Floyd’s death.