Third Minneapolis officer charged in George Floyd’s death released from jail on bond

by Justine Coleman - 07/05/20 5:09 PM ET

The third Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death was released from jail on bond Saturday, according to Hennepin County jail records.

Tou Thao, 34, posted a $750,000 bond and was released shortly after 11 a.m. on the Fourth of July, the records show.

He agreed to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Sept. 11 on charges of aiding and abetting in second-degree murder while committing a felony and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence.

The officer was offered a $1 million bond with no conditions or $750,000 bond with conditions, the Minnesota Star-Tribune reported.

Thao is one of four officers from the Minneapolis Police Department who were fired after Floyd died after he was detained on Memorial Day.

Bystander video footage showed white officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeling on Floyd’s neck while Floyd was handcuffed, said he couldn’t breathe and became unresponsive. Chauvin is being held in Oak Park Heights prison on $1.25 million bail.

The other two officers J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Thomas Lane, 37, were previously released on $750,000 bonds last month.

Floyd’s death sparked protests initially in Minneapolis and then in cities across the country over police brutality and treatment of Black Americans. The officers were fired the day after Floyd’s death.