Supreme Court rejects appeal by ex-officer Tou Thao, who held back crowd as George Floyd lay dying

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the federal civil rights conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer who held back a concerned crowd while fellow officers pinned down a dying George Floyd. The high court, without comment on Monday, rejected the appeal of Tou Thao. He had testified earlier that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life in 2020. Floyd’s murder touched off protests worldwide.