Federal judge denies early probation release for ex-police officer in George Floyd case

A federal judge denied a request to cut short the probation term for former Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng, who knelt on George Floyd’s back as he died under the knee of ex-cop Derek Chauvin in 2020.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson on Friday denied Kueng’s request to terminate his supervision months before it was slated to end.

Kueng’s attorney, Thomas Plunkett, had asked the court this week to end his supervision, citing his compliance with the terms of his sentence and said its continuance is “unnecessary” and “wastes resources.”

Kueng’s supervised release is slated to last through March 2026.

Magnuson called the request “premature” in his ruling, noting Kueng’s supervision began Jan. 15 this year upon his release from prison and federal law requires defendants to complete at least one year of supervision before they’re eligible to cut their term short.

“However, if Kueng renews his request after he completes one year of supervision, and if he is still in compliance with the terms of his release, the Court will grant Kueng’s request at that time,” Magnuson noted.

Kueng was released from a low-security federal prison in Lisbon, Ohio. He was sentenced on state charges to 3½ years for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, a term served concurrently with a three-year federal sentence for civil rights violation offenses. He was on his third day of the job when Floyd was killed.

Chauvin is serving a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights. The term is being served concurrently with his 22-year state sentence after he was convicted in 2021 in Hennepin County District Court of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Former Minneapolis officer Thomas Lane, who held Floyd’s legs during the arrest, was released from prison last summer.