Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee sparked the country’s largest racial outcry in decades.
The sentence, which fell short of the prosecutors’ request of 30 years, came after Chauvin broke his nearly year-long silence in court to express his condolences to the Floyd family and express his hope that more information will eventually provide them with “some peace of mind.”
Chauvin, 45, could be released after serving two-thirds of his sentence, or about 15 years, if he maintains good behaviour.
Judge Peter Cahill went above and beyond the state’s recommended sentence of 12 1/2 years, citing “your abuse of a position of trust and authority, as well as the particular cruelty” shown to Floyd in his decision.
Chauvin was taken back to prison right away. He showed little emotion when the judge read the sentence, as he did when the verdicts were read in April. His COVID-19 mask obscured much of his face, so his eyes moved quickly around the courtroom.
On May 25, 2020, the fired white officer was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter after pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for up to 9 1/2 minutes while the 46-year-old Black man gasped for air and went limp.
Bystander video of Floyd’s arrest on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a corner store sparked worldwide protests and sparked violence in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
On Friday, Chauvin, who did not testify at his trial, took off his mask and turned toward the Floyd family, speaking only briefly due to “some additional legal matters at hand” — an apparent reference to the Floyds’ legal troubles.
Chauvin has been held at the state’s maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights since his conviction, where he has been kept in a cell by himself for his own safety and has had his meals delivered to him.
The three other officers who were involved in Floyd’s arrest will stand trial in March on state charges of murder and manslaughter. They will also face federal civil rights charges alongside Floyd. That trial has yet to be scheduled.
