The police officer who knelt on George Floyd's back during his murder has been jailed.
Former Minneapolis cop J. Alexander Kueng was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to the aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in October.
Kueng appeared in court via a video feed from a low-security federal prison in Ohio, US after admitting to holding down Floyd's upper body in a manner that was not appropriate in May 25, 2020.
He was asked if he had any remarks to the court, Kueng replied: "Nothing your honour, thank you.”
Prosecutor Matthew Frank told the court before sentencing: "I really can’t come close to comprehending what the family and friends of George Floyd have had to go through.
“It’s not just watching a video of your loved one dying and seeing it on TV over and over again. Throughout these two and a half years, throughout all the court proceedings, we think of them often and we wish them the best in healing and moving forward.”
He added Floyd was a “crime victim” and Kueng “was not simply a bystander in what happened that day.”
The former officer is currently serving time for violating Floyd's civil rights and the two sentences will be served at the same time.
After Keung's guilty plea in October, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said: "J. Alexander Kueng is now the second officer involved in Floyd’s death to accept responsibility through a guilty plea.
"That acknowledgement hopefully can bring comfort to Floyd’s family and bring our communities closer to a new era of accountability and justice."
Keung was part of a team who held Floyd down. Thomas Lane held down the victim's legs while Tou Thao stopped the public from intervening.
Lane, Taho and Keung were convicted of denying Floyd his right to medical care in February. Thao and Keung were also given further convictions for failing to intervene.
Former officer Derek Chauvin was the officer who held his knee down on Floyd for nine and a half minutes.
Chauvin received a 21-year sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights and a further 22-and-a-half-year sentence on state charges of murder and manslaughter.
US District Judge Paul Magnuson said at the time: "I really don’t know why you did what you did... To put your knee on another person’s neck until they expire is wrong, and thus you need to be substantially punished."
There were protests around the world after Floyd's death as the video of him saying he couldn't breathe before he passed out and died went viral on social media.
Black Lives Matter protests were seen all over the world in the wake of Floyd's death.
Thao is the only former cop who is awaiting further jail time after telling Judge Peter Cahill he "would be lying" if he pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
In October, Thao asked to have his trial by stipulated evidence which will see Judge Cahill decide on the defendant's guilt.
Prosecutors have said the murder charge against Thao will be dropped if he is found guilty of manslaughter.
