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Thomas Lane, a  former Minneapolis police officer, was sentenced to serve two and a half years in prison Thursday for violating the civil rights of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed in broad daylight while being restrained by Lane and several other police officers.

Judge Paul Magnuson called Lane’s role in Floyd’s death “a very serious offense in which a life was lost” before handing down a sentence well below what prosecutors and Floyd’s family wanted.

Philonise Floyd, the victim’s brother, said the light sentence was “insulting.”

Brandon Williams, Floyd’s nephew, called the judge’s decision “a slap in a face.”

The viral video showing Floyd’s death changed the world, showing racism and police brutality in a way that people could no longer sweep under the rug.

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In May 2020, three Minneapolis police officers pinned the already handcuffed Black man down on the concrete while one of them, Derek Chauvin, placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine and a half minutes as Floyd repeatedly begged for mercy, saying that he could not breathe. Lane, a rookie officer on his fourth day on the job, held down Floyd’s legs during the arrest, while J. Alexander Kueng restrained his torso. A fourth officer, Tou Thao, kept the crowd from approaching or stepping in to help.

Bystanders recorded what happened on cellphones, showing heartbreaking footage of Floyd calling out for his deceased mother before he eventually stopped breathing. Chauvin, who was the supervising officer on the scene, ignored pleas from the crowd while staring directly into the videos with a seemingly hateful glare.

Chauvin was sentenced to serve 22 years in prison.

Magnuson said that Lane had a “minimal role” in the incident, saying he felt he was a person of “outstanding character.”

“It’s not unusual to receive letters. But I have never received so many letters,” he said of the 145 letters sent in support of Lane.

The judge recommended the Bureau of Prisons place Lane in the federal prison in Duluth, Minnesota, to be nearer to his family and friends for visitations.

George Floyd’s family will never have that luxury, as Lane and his fellow officers seemingly waited patiently for him to die.

“Our family was given a death sentence May 25, we will never get George back,” Philonise said. “The fact that this judge had a chance to deliver a maximum amount of time and he chose not to — what did that tell other people around the world? What does that tell people of color? The fact that they went below the (recommended) sentence, that’s terrible, because you give other people, for other crimes, way more time than that.”