A former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty Monday to state charges in the murder of George Floyd, which sparked a summer of racial unrest across the U.S. in 2020.

J. Alexander Kueng, a rookie officer on the day of Mr. Floyd’s arrest and murder in May 2020, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, according to a spokesman for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is prosecuting the case. In exchange, the state agreed to drop the higher charge of aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

The plea deal came as Mr. Kueng and another officer, Tou Thao, a veteran officer at the time of the arrest, were about to begin jury selection for their trial for the state charges.

Along with Mr. Kueng’s guilty plea, Mr. Thao and prosecutors agreed to what is called a stipulated bench trial, in which the state and Mr. Thao will submit agreed-upon evidence to Judge Peter Cahill on the charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, the attorney general’s office said in a press release. If the judge finds him guilty of that, the state will also drop its charge of second-degree murder against him.

A third officer, Thomas Lane, had earlier pleaded guilty to the reduced state charge. All three were convicted earlier this year of federal charges of violating Mr. Floyd’s civil rights. [MORE]

THE RIGHT TO REMAIN VIOLENT TO BLACKS. Thomas Lane is already serving a 2 1/2-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights. When it comes to the state's case, prosecutors and Lane's attorneys had agreed to a recommended sentence of three years — which is below the sentencing guidelines — and prosecutors agreed to allow him to serve that penalty at the same time as his federal sentence, and in a federal prison.

Judge Peter Cahill accepted the plea agreement, saying he would sentence lane below the guidelines because he accepted responsibility.

"I think it was a very wise decision for you to accept responsibility and move on with your life," Cahill said, while acknowledging that the Floyd family has not been able to move on with theirs.

Under Minnesota rules, it's presumed Lane would serve two years of his state sentence in prison, and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. [MORE]