United States v. Tou Thao, No. 22-2708 (8th Cir. 2023)
Annotate this Case
Defendant is one of four former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers involved in the death of George Floyd. Defendant was convicted of two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury and death. He appealed the district court’s denial of his motions for acquittal and a mistrial. On appeal, Defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to convict him and that prosecutorial misconduct deprived him of his right to a fair trial.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that Defendant specifically argued that no reasonable jury could have found that he had the requisite mens rea to commit the crimes. The court wrote that to prove Defendant acted willfully, the Government produced evidence that Defendant knew from his training that (1) Chauvin’s use of force on Floyd was unreasonable and (2) he had a duty to intervene in another officer’s use of unreasonable force. The court concluded that viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, there was sufficient evidence that Defendant acted willfully on this charge.
In regards to Defendant’s second charge: his deliberate indifference to Floyd’s serious medical needs, the court held that it agreed with the district court that the evidence on this count is “not overwhelming,” but nonetheless, a reasonable jury could find that Defendant acted willfully. Ultimately, the court concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that Defendant acted willfully on both Section 242 counts and that any prosecutorial conduct did not deprive Defendant of his right to a fair trial.
Court Description: [Kobes, Author, with Loken and Erickson, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. In this prosecution related to the death of George Floyd, the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's convictions on two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury and death in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 242; defendant failed to intervene in Officer Chauvin's use of unreasonable force and he was deliberately indifferent to Floyd's medical needs; claims of prosecutorial misconduct rejected because defendant has waived these claims by failing to meaningfully brief them; even if they were preserved, they were not prejudicial enough to require reversal and a new trial.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.