Alexander Kueng, the ex-Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of 46-year-old George Floyd has bailed out of jail. Kueng is the second former officer to be released after being charged. Thomas Lane, 37, posted bail earlier this month.
According to Hennepin County Jail online records, the 26-year-old posted a bail of $750,000 and was released on Friday (June 19) evening with conditions.
Kueng is charged with aiding and abetting in the May 25 police killing of Floyd at the hands of another officer, 44-year-old Derek Chauvin, who reportedly previously knew Floyd. Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed for nearly eight minutes, causing his death. Kueng, along with the other three officers involved, was arrested on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges amid activated Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis and talks to defund the police.
The third ex-officer, Tou Thao, 34, remains in jail. Chauvin is currently at Minnesota’s maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights on $1.25 million bail. He is charged with second-degree murder.
The police killing of Floyd lit the match that exploded into hundreds of protests across the world in the name of Black Lives Matter and has ignited a public outcry against police brutality.
On June 7, Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender announced plans to disband the Minneapolis Police Department during a rally. They reportedly have the nine out of 12 veto-proof majority needed to pass the proposal.
“Our commitment is to do what is necessary to keep every single member of our community safe and to tell the truth that the Minneapolis Police are not doing that,” Bender said during her speech. “Our commitment is to end our city’s toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department, to end policing as we know it, and to recreate systems of public safety that actually keep us safe.”