Thomas Lane, one of the four Minneapolis cops charged in George Floyd’s death, posts bail

BREAKING NEWS: Rookie Minneapolis cop Thomas Lane, one of the four officers charged in George Floyd’s death, LEAVES jail after posting $750,000 bond

  • Thomas Lane, 37, who had been held in lieu of $750,000 cash bail, was freed shortly before 4:10pm from the Hennepin County Jail
  • Lane is one of three charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in connection to the death of Floyd 
  • His attorney, Earl Gray, said the embattled rookie cop accepted bail with conditions and is currently back living with his wife
  • His next court appearance is slated for June 29 where Gray says he plans to file a motion to dismiss all charges 

By Luke Kenton For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:14 EDT, 10 June 2020 | Updated: 19:19 EDT, 10 June 2020

Thomas Lane, 37, who had been held in lieu of $750,000 cash bail, was freed shortly before 4:10pm from the Hennepin County Jail

Thomas Lane, 37, who had been held in lieu of $750,000 cash bail, was freed shortly before 4:10pm from the Hennepin County Jail

Thomas Lane, 37, who had been held in lieu of $750,000 cash bail, was freed shortly before 4:10pm from the Hennepin County Jail

One of the four fired Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd posted bail and was released from custody Wednesday afternoon.

Thomas Lane, 37, who had been held in lieu of $750,000 cash bail, was freed shortly before 4:10pm from the Hennepin County Jail, a spokesperson from the Sheriff’s Office told the Star Tribune. 

Lane is one of three charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in connection to the death of Floyd, 46, who died on Memorial Day.  

His attorney, Earl Gray, said the embattled rookie cop accepted bail with conditions and is currently back living with his wife, though declined to specify where citing safety reasons. 

Lane had been locked up for the past week. His next court appearance is slated for June 29 where Gray says he plans to file a motion to dismiss all charges.

‘Now we can watch what happens next from outside,’ Gray told the Tribune. ‘We will bring a motion to dismiss and hopefully it will be granted.’

According to charging documents, Lane (seen far right) - who initially took Floyd into custody - held down the father-of-five's legs, while Keung held his back and Chauvin kneeled down on his neck for eight minutes and 45 seconds

According to charging documents, Lane (seen far right) - who initially took Floyd into custody - held down the father-of-five's legs, while Keung held his back and Chauvin kneeled down on his neck for eight minutes and 45 seconds

According to charging documents, Lane (seen far right) – who initially took Floyd into custody – held down the father-of-five’s legs, while Keung held his back and Chauvin kneeled down on his neck for eight minutes and 45 seconds

Lane’s co-defendants, Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng remain in jail as of Wednesday evening. 

According to charging documents, Lane – who initially took Floyd into custody – held down the father-of-five’s legs, while Keung held his back and Chauvin kneeled down on his neck for eight minutes and 45 seconds.  

Gray has previous stated that the case against his client is ‘weak’.  He says that Lane asked Chauvin if Floyd should be rolled over onto his side amid the 46-year-old’s cries of ‘I can’t breathe’.

The attorney also protests that Lane, working only his four shift with the Minneapolis PD, attempted to resuscitate Floyd in the ambulance moments before he was pronounced dead.

‘[Lane was] pounding on this guy trying to revive him. Where is the willful intent?’ Gray asked.  

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, with his bail set at $1.25 million.

Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng, meanwhile, who face the same charges as Lane, are still being detained in lieu of $750,000 cash bonds as of 6:31pm.  

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, with his bail set at $1.25 million.

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, with his bail set at $1.25 million.

George Floyd

George Floyd

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in relation to George Floyd’s (right) death, with his bail set at $1.25 million.

Lane’s family members had set up a fundraising page for the ex-cop earlier this week, asking the public for donations in a perceived bid to raise enough cash to meet his bail amount. 

The author of the fundraiser called Lane’s bail amount – originally set at $1 million – ‘unreasonable’, and said the 37-year-old did ‘all he could to save George Floyd’s life’.

‘This shows a total disregard for equal justice under the law,’ the author thundered.

It’s unclear how much the page generated in donations. The website was ‘under construction’ as of Wednesday and was no longer accessible. 

The page had listed a number of Lane’s ‘accolades’ and also highlighted various volunteer work he had undertaken. 

Such highlights included winning a 2019 Community Service Award and volunteering at an after-school mentoring program at Bel Air Elementary School. 

Prior to his employment at the Minneapolis PD, Lane had accumulated a lengthy rap sheet dating back to 2001. He was still on probation when he was fired on May 26. 

Four of the charges were relating to traffic citations and two parking-meter violations, however he was convicted on a criminal charges of obstructing legal process and one charge of damaging property in October 2001. 

Lane's family members had set up a fundraising page for the ex-cop earlier this week, asking the public for donations in a perceived bid to get him out of jail

Lane's family members had set up a fundraising page for the ex-cop earlier this week, asking the public for donations in a perceived bid to get him out of jail

Lane’s family members had set up a fundraising page for the ex-cop earlier this week, asking the public for donations in a perceived bid to get him out of jail

The author of the fundraiser called Lane's bail amount - originally set at $1 million - 'unreasonable', and said the 37-year-old did 'all he could to save George Floyd's life'.

The author of the fundraiser called Lane's bail amount - originally set at $1 million - 'unreasonable', and said the 37-year-old did 'all he could to save George Floyd's life'.

George Floyd

George Floyd

The author of the fundraiser called Lane’s bail amount – originally set at $1 million – ‘unreasonable’, and said the 37-year-old did ‘all he could to save George Floyd’s life’

Lane appeared alongside Thao and Keung in a preliminary court appearance on June 4.

During their appearance, they were ordered not to work again in security or law enforcement, to surrender their gun, and never have any contact with the victim’s family. 

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