Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
(Picture: AP)The former US police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Derek Chauvin was sentenced on Thursday on further federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights during the fatal May 2020 arrest in Minneapolis.
During the arrest Chauvin, a white officer, knelt on the neck of Floyd, who was handcuffed, for more than nine minutes, as captured on video.
In the video Floyd could be heard pleading for his life. A medical examiner determined that the restraint stopped Floyd from being able to breathe.
The death led to protests in cities across the US and the globe against police brutality and racism.
Chauvin pleaded guilty to Floyd’s murder and is already serving a sentence of 22.5 years in a Minnesota prison after a trial last year.
Thursday’s federal sentence will run concurrently, and Chauvin will be moved to a federal prison.
US District Judge Paul Magnuson said he would remove the seven months Chauvin has already spent behind bars from the federal sentence.
The sentence is due to be followed by five years of supervised release.
Judge Magnuson called Chauvin’s actions “unconscionable”.
“To put your knee on another person’s neck until they expire is wrong, and thus you need to be substantially punished,” he told the court.
Chauvin told Floyd’s family at the sentencing that he “wishes them all the best”.
