Derek Chauvin sentenced to 21 years in federal case in George Floyd’s killing
The former Minneapolis cop convicted of George Floyd’s murder was sentenced on a federal charge that won’t add more time to his incarceration — and could get him a swankier cell.
Derek Chauvin was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in prison on a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin, 46, pleaded guilty to the charge in December.
The ex-cop was already looking at 22½ years behind bars for murdering Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, in May 2020. The federal sentence will run concurrently, so it’s unlikely to seriously affect the amount of time Chauvin spends in prison.
Derek Chauvin speaks at his June 2021 sentencing hearing for murder.
A judge also credited Chauvin with seven months of time served.
As part of the deal, Chauvin will be transferred from a Minnesota state prison to a U.S. federal prison, which are usually nicer than state facilities.
On May 25, 2020, a convenience store clerk called cops, saying Floyd used a counterfeit $20 bill to try to buy cigarettes. Four cops responded, Chauvin the most senior of them.
Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, all while Floyd begged for help and told officers he couldn’t breathe.
“I really don’t know why you did what you did,” District Judge Paul Magnuson told Chauvin. “To put your knee on a person’s neck until they expired is simply wrong. … Your conduct is wrong and it is offensive.”
The three officers who acted alongside Chauvin — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Keung and Thomas Lane — were convicted on similar charges in February, but their sentencing dates have not been set.
In state court, Lane pleaded guilty in May to aiding and abetting manslaughter. Thao and Keung are scheduled for trial in October.
With News Wire Services
