A second former Minneapolis police officer who was arrested for the police custody death of George Floyd has been released from jail after posting bail, according to jail records.
J. Alexander Kueng was released Friday night. He made his first court appearance in Hennepin County District Court on June 4 and had his bail set at $750,000. He was held at the Hennepin County Jail before posting his bond.
Last Wednesday, another fired Minneapolis officer, Thomas Lane, was released from jail. His bond was also set at $750,000 on June 4 and he had also been held at the Hennepin County Jail, a spokesperson from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said.
Lane and Kueng’s defense attorneys previously asked the court for lower bail, saying their clients had been police officers for just four days when Floyd was killed.
Police records indicate that while the men were rookies, they had more experience than a handful of days on the force. According to their records, they joined the department in February 2019 and became full officers in December. Minneapolis officers must serve a year on probation and spend time in field training with a more senior officer before they are fully qualified.
Both officers were involved with two others in arresting Floyd on Memorial Day. Floyd died after one of the officers knelt on his neck for almost 9 minutes. His death sparked global protests against racial injustice and police brutality.
Floyd’s death was captured on video by bystanders. The footage showed then-Officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck while he was on the ground outside a police vehicle. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder. The other three officers at the scene—Lane, Kueng, and Tou Thao—were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Both Thao and Chauvin are currently still behind bars. Thao, just like his other two former colleagues, had bail set at $750,000, while Chauvin’s was set at $1.25 million.
Kueng, Lane, and Thao were offered reduced bail if they agreed to certain conditions. Kueng’s conditions include not working in security or law enforcement, not having contact with Floyd’s family, not leaving Minnesota, and surrendering all firearms and permits. If he posts bail, his release will be supervised.
Lane was released on bail after his family helped him. They set up a fundraising page for the former officer, asking the public for a donation for his “defense fund.”
On the fundraiser, the author of the page wrote the bail amount set is not reasonable and claims that Lane “did everything he could to save George Floyd’s life.”
The total amount the page generated in donations is unclear, but the goal was set at $1 million. The page is no longer accessible.
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