As frightening riots spread all over the country Friday night, two of the three Minneapolis police officers present at the fatal arrest of George Floyd last week have left town. The third is keeping a low profile, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
Details are sketchy about the three since their social media pages have been deleted and their phones turned off or disconnected.
A lawyer for Tou Thao, 34, who was filmed watching as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on 46-year-old Floyd’s neck while he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe, said he is no longer in Minnesota.
J Alexander Kueng, 26, one of the two first officers at the scene who helped pin down Floyd, who was unarmed and handcuffed, is reportedly staying with family in Minneapolis. Officer Thomas K. Lane, 37, has left the city and didn’t tell anyone where he was going, a relative said Friday, according to the Tribune.
Chauvin, 44, was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, Hennepin County officials said. His bail was set at $500,000. Chauvin was fired this week, along with the other three cops. Charges against Thao, Kueng and Lane are anticipated but Hennepin County District Attorney Mike Freeman declined to speculate what they would be.
Chauvin racked up more than 15 conduct complaints during his 19 years with the department. He worked as a real estate agent and club bouncer in his off hours. His former boss at the Minneapolis dance club said he had a temper.
“I’ve seen him in action and I’ve seen him lose it and I’ve called him out on it before,” Maya Santamaria said. “I’ve told him it’s unnecessary and unjustified some of the ways that he behaves. He just loses it.”
Thao had six unspecified police complaints against him.
Neither Kueng nor Lane have had any complaints registered against them, the Tribune reported.
“He doesn’t have a bad bone in his body,” an unidentified relative of Lane told the Tribune. “This is just a terrible event and I feel bad for the lives lost and the Floyd family.”