In this image taken from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, right, accompanied by defense attorney Eric Nelson, addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over Chauvin's sentencing, Friday, June 25, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. Chauvin faces decades in prison for the May 2020 death of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool)
July 7, 2022
Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to a further 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil right.
He is already serving a 22-year sentence.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sharply criticized Chauvin for his actions on May 25, 2020, when he pinned Floyd to the pavement outside a Minneapolis corner store for more than 9 minutes as he lay dying.
“I really don’t know why you did what you did,” Magnuson said. “To put your knee on a person’s neck until they expired is simply wrong. … Your conduct is wrong and it is offensive.”
Magnuson, who presided over the federal trial and convictions of three other officers at the scene earlier this year, blamed Chauvin alone for what happened.
Chauvin was by far the senior officer on the scene, and rebuffed questions from one of the officers about whether Floyd should be turned on his side.
Chauvin was convicted in a separate case on state charges of murder and manslaughter and is already jailed.
The federal sentence adds a few years to the time Chauvin is already serving for his murder conviction.
Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson had asked for 20 years, arguing that Chauvin was remorseful and would make that clear to the court.
But the former Minneapolis police officer’s remarks included no direct apology or expression of remorse to Floyd’s family.
Chauvin told Floyd’s family in Thursday’s sentencing hearing that he “wishes all the best” for Floyd’s children.
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