Former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for his role in the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Floyd's death sparked widespread protests against racial injustice and police brutality. Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer to face sentencing in state court, was found guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. He had testified that he acted as a "human traffic cone" by holding back concerned bystanders while Derek Chauvin, another former officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes. Thao's actions prevented bystanders from providing medical aid to Floyd. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, in his ruling, stated that Thao's actions were objectively unreasonable and emphasized that Thao was under a duty to intervene and render medical aid. The judge sentenced Thao to 57 months in prison.

Thao had rejected a plea bargain and instead allowed Judge Cahill to decide the case based on evidence from Chauvin's murder trial in 2021 and the federal civil rights trial of Thao and two other former officers in 2022. Chauvin was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison. The other two officers, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and received sentences of 3 and a half years and 3 years, respectively.

Thao's sentencing concludes the final criminal case related to Floyd's killing. The video of Floyd's arrest and subsequent death sparked global outrage and led to a nationwide reckoning on police brutality and racism. Thao's sentencing is seen as another step towards accountability in Floyd's death, although many believe that true justice has not yet been achieved.