JUST IN: Derek Chauvin sentenced to 21 years in George Floyd’s federal civil rights case

MPR News reported that on Thursday, a federal court sentenced former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to 21 years in prison, with credit for time already served, on offenses including violation of George Floyd’s civil rights.

Chauvin pled guilty in December 2021 to two federal civil rights crimes, including the use of excessive force in May 2020 when he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes.

A second complaint relates to his alleged conduct toward a 14-year-old apprehended in 2017, when he “held the boy by the throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee on the boy’s neck and upper back while he was prone, handcuffed and not resisting,” reported the Associated Press.

Chauvin has been confined in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison in Minnesota while serving a separate 22.5-year term for his conviction on state murder and manslaughter counts for the death of Floyd.

According to the rules of his plea agreement, he will serve both sentences consecutively and will be transferred from state to federal prison.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson declared from the bench, “I have no idea why you did what you did.” “It is unethical to place your knee on a person’s neck till they die…. Your action is inappropriate and rude.”

Chauvin, who has yet to adequately confront his behavior in public, did not apologize during his brief remarks.

Instead, he expressed his desire that Floyd’s children receive “excellent guidance in becoming responsible adults.”
The arrangement implies that he will likely be incarcerated for a lengthier period of time, as federal criminals often spend a greater proportion of their complete term than state-level offenders in Minnesota.

AP reports that he will now spend his sentence in a potentially safer setting.
Chauvin has appealing his state conviction for the murder of Floyd.

In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, for Floyd’s death. He is currently serving a 2212-year sentence. His state and federal sentences will run concurrently.

Initially, Chauvin pled not guilty to the federal counts, but in December he modified his plea. At the time, he also pled guilt in a second federal indictment related to claims that he violated the civil rights of a 14-year-old child in September 2017.

By pleading guilty, Chauvin was able to avoid another high-profile trial. The sentence includes twenty years for Floyd-related offenses and five months for the other case.

Chauvin spoke shortly before he was sentenced, wishing the Floyd family “all the best in life” without offering an apology.

Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, was among those who spoke in court before to the sentencing. He demanded the highest penalty for Chauvin, stating that he had not had a good night’s sleep since his brother was “murdered in broad daylight.”

According to him, his family has been given “a life sentence” since they would never be able to retrieve his sibling.