“I am pleased Thomas Lane has accepted responsibility for his role in Floyd’s death,” Ellison said. “His acknowledgment he did something wrong is an important step toward healing the wounds of the Floyd family, our community, and the nation. While accountability is not justice, this is a significant moment in this case and a necessary resolution on our continued journey to justice.”
Lane’s attorney Earl Gray did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Wednesday.
Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng faced state charges of aiding and abetting murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter for their actions — or lack thereof — as their colleague Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck and back of Floyd, who was handcuffed and lying on his stomach, for over nine minutes.
During the arrest, Lane held down Floyd’s legs, Kueng held down Floyd’s torso, and Thao stood nearby and kept a crowd of upset bystanders back. Harrowing video taken by a bystander showed Floyd desperately pleading for them to let him breathe and calling for his mother before he went silent and died, leading to an international protest movement against the ways that police treat Black citizens.
