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 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 

The high court, without comment, on Monday rejected the appeal of 

 who had argued that prosecutors failed to prove his actions on the day that Floyd died were willful, and alleged that prosecutorial misconduct deprived him of his right to a fair trial.

Thao had testified that he merely served as a 

 when he held back concerned bystanders as former 

 who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s murder touched off protests worldwide and forced a national 

reckoning on police brutality and racism.

 of violating Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin 

 earlier, after being convicted of second-degree murder in a separate trial in state court. Thao and the two other former officers were convicted in state court of aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder. Thao is serving his 3 1/2-year federal and 4 3/4-year state sentences concurrently.

 of his state murder conviction in November. He’s recovering from being 

 by a fellow inmate at the federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, later that week. He’s 

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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. 

Tou Thao speaks during his sentencing hearing

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

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