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The murder of George Floyd
MPR News Staff
Updated:

Former police officer convicted in George Floyd's murder set to be released from prison

Person wearing a face mask
Former Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng goes through security at the Hennepin County Courthouse before a motions hearing in Minneapolis in July 2020.
Evan Frost | MPR News file

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One of the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd nearly five years ago is scheduled to be released from prison Wednesday.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, J. Alexander Kueng will be released from the low-security Elkton correctional facility in Lisbon, Ohio, where he’s been serving his sentences on state and federal charges.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections said Kueng will then return to Minnesota, where he’ll be on supervised release. Under Minnesota law, most offenders serve the first two-thirds of their sentences in prison and the remainder on supervised release.

Kueng helped hold Floyd down while Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s back and neck for more than 9 minutes in May 2020, killing Floyd. Kueng pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and was also convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights.

He was sentenced to 3 years on the federal charge and 3 1/2 years on the state charge, to be served at the same time in federal prison.

Thomas Lane, who also helped restrain Floyd, was released from prison last August, to serve the remainder of his sentence on supervised release.

Tou Thao, who did not intervene to stop Floyd’s murder, is scheduled to be released next fall. 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.