US cop gets extra 20 years for George Floyd’s killing

The US cop who murdered George Floyd yesterday received another 20 years in prison on top of his original sentence for violating the victim’s civil rights.

Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, is already serving over 22 years after being convicted of the 46 year old’s death in May 2020 after pleading guilty to the separate federal civil rights charges in December. His sentence is expected to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The two sentences will run concurrently and Chauvin will now be moved to a federal prison.

US District Court Judge Paul Magnuson, in delivering the sentence, admitted he didn’t know why Chauvin murdered Floyd.

“To put your knee on another person’s neck until they’re deceased is wrong. You must be substantially punished.”

Floyd’s brother, Philonese, who asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 25 years said, “George’s life matters.”

Chauvin, a 19-year police veteran, was captured by a bystander’s mobile phone camera that went viral, kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about 10 minutes until he passed out and died.

The killing sparked global outrage and a wave of demonstrations against racial injustice and police use of force.

The federal charges against Chauvin included two counts for depriving Floyd of his rights by kneeling on his neck as he was in handcuffs, and by failing to provide medical care during the May 2020 arrest.

Chauvin also pleaded guilty to violating the rights of a then-14-year-old boy during another arrest that took place in 2017. Chauvin 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 handcuffed and not resisting. Like Floyd, the boy was black.

Prosecutors said that unreleased bodycam footage showed Chauvin kneeling on the boy’s back for 17 minutes while he cried out for his mother.

Chaauvin’s lawyer requested a sentence of 20 years, adding he showed respect for the legal process during his trial and is not at risk of repeating his offenses.

Chauvin accepted the judge had a difficult decision to make, given the “politically charged environment,” and recognised that the court strives for fairness.

Chauvin addressed Floyd’s children, some of whom were in court and wished them “all the best in their life” and that they have “excellent guidance in becoming good adults.” He did not apologise.

SOURCE: BBC