MINNEAPOLIS — One of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd, Tou Thao, was at the scene for crowd control, nothing more, according to his attorney. The attorney argued in a memo to the judge that there is no reasoon continue the case against Thao as aiding and abetting in Floyd’s death. The attorney, Robert Paule, said also that Thao offered a hobble restraint to the other three officers but they refused it. Thao, said the attorney, then immediately turned his attention to crowd control and mostly kept his back to Floyd and the other officers. “When Officer Thao turned his back to Mr. Floyd and the three other officers for the last time, Mr. Floyd was still alive and breathing,” Paule said. The next court hearing for the four officers is scheduled for September 11.
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Thao: His lawyer sees no probable cause