Thomas Kiernan Lane (©Hennepin County Jail)

Thomas Kiernan Lane, 37, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States was hired by the Minneapolis Police Department on February 19, 2019. On May 26, 2020, he was fired along with his training officer Derek Michael Chauvin, 44, and their former colleagues Tou Nmn Thao, 34, and J Alexander Kueng, 26, over their involvement in the fatal arrest of George Floyd.

Representing Lane is Earl Gray, an experienced criminal defense lawyer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. The former cop was described as “compassionate and amusing and insightful” by a male relative in an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Lane received his bachelor’s degree in sociology of law, criminology and deviance from the University of Minnesota in 2016. He had a criminal record and numerous traffic violations before joining the Minneapolis Police Department.

1. Misdemeanor

• case number: 62-K1-01-601184
• date filed: October 24, 2001
• status: converted closed
• charges (disposition / level of sentence): obstructing legal process (convicted), criminal damage to property in the fourth degree (convicted), unlawful assembly (dismissed), obstructing legal process (dismissed), disorderly conduct (dismissed), disobeying order of police (dismissed)

2. Crim/Traf Non-Mand

• case number: 10-VB-04-8701
• date filed: October 18, 2004
• status: closed – physical file destroyed
• charges (disposition / level of sentence): traffic – speeding (convicted), traffic regulation – vehicle registration – license plate (dismissed), traffic regulation – driver must carry proof of insurance when operating vehicle (dismissed, conditions met or expired)

3. Non-Moving Petty Misdemeanor

• case number: 62-TX-07-604808
• date filed: April 24, 2007
• status: converted closed
• charges (disposition / level of sentence): disorderly conduct (dismissed), noisy party or gathering (guilty)

4. Crim/Traf Non-Mand

• case number: 27-VB-15-271115428529
• date filed: June 17, 2015
• status: converted closed
• charges (disposition / level of sentence): obstructing traffic with vehicle (convicted, sentenced)

5. Crim/Traf Non-Mand

• case number: 27-VB-16-118650
• date filed: May 4, 2016
• status: closed
• charges (disposition / level of sentence): parked overtime in a meter zone (convicted of a petty misdemeanor)

6. Crim/Traf Non-Mand

• case number: 27-VB-18-123757
• date filed: April 9, 2018
• status: closed
• charges (disposition / level of sentence): parked overtime in a meter zone (convicted of a petty misdemeanor)