Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
The murder of George Floyd
Matt Sepic
Minneapolis
Updated:

Ex-cop convicted in Floyd killing released from prison

Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Kiernan Lane
Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Kiernan Lane exits the court in Minneapolis.
Kerem Yucel | AFP via Getty Images 2020

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

One of the former Minneapolis police officers convicted in the 2020 killing of George Floyd was released from prison on Tuesday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Thomas Lane, who received the shortest sentence of the four ex-officers involved in Floyd’s death, is the first to leave custody.

In early 2022, a federal jury convicted Lane of violating George Floyd’s civil rights for ignoring his medical needs as former officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Later that year, Lane pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Lane can be seen on video holding Floyd’s legs as Chauvin and another former officer, J. Alexander Kueng, restrained the 46-year-old Black man. Lane asked Chauvin twice whether they should reposition Floyd so he could breathe. Chauvin rebuffed the suggestions from Lane, who was a rookie in his fourth day on the job when he confronted Floyd over allegations that he used a fake $20 bill at a corner store. 

Lane, 41, served his 30-month federal sentence concurrently with his three-year state term in a Colorado federal prison.

Lane is expected to leave that facility to serve the final year of his state sentence on supervised release. Under Minnesota law, most offenders serve the first two thirds of their sentences in prison and the remainder on supervised release.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Corrections said the department is bringing Lane back to the state, and is transferring his supervision to Wisconsin’s corrections department through an interstate agreement.

At Lane’s state sentencing hearing in 2022, then-Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Matthew Frank said that Lane deserved a shorter sentence than the other ex-officers because he played a “somewhat less culpable role” in Floyd’s death, and “there were moments when Mr. Lane tried to change what was going on that day.”

Kueng and former officer Tou Thao are set for release in April, according the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Chauvin — who’s serving a 22 1/2-year state sentence along with a 20-year federal term —- isn't expected to be released until 2038. Chauvin began serving his sentence at a federal prison in Tucson, Ariz., but records show that he was moved recently to a transfer facility in Oklahoma. The Bureau of Prisons has not said why it moved Chauvin.

The former officer, 48, was seriously injured in November when a fellow inmate allegedly stabbed him 22 times in a prison law library. John Turscak, 53, a former gang member, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted murder.