Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 20 years in prison on federal civil rights charges Thursday in the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and for allegations of unreasonable force against a teen several years prior.
Chauvin pleaded guilty to the civil rights violations last year, after he was sentenced to 22 years in prison for second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The lesser-known incident, said the Department of Justice, occurred in 2017, when Chauvin allegedly held a 14-year-old boy “by the throat” and struck him in the head with a flashlight.
“In the plea agreement, defendant Chauvin also admitted that he held his knee on the juvenile’s neck, shoulders and upper back for between 15 and 16 minutes, even though the juvenile was face-down on the floor, handcuffed and not resisting. Defendant Chauvin admitted that these actions resulted in the juvenile’s bodily injury,” the DOJ said in December.
During sentencing on Thursday, Chauvin addressed the family of Floyd, and said he wished them well. Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, asked the court to give Chauvin the maximum sentence of 25 years, reports CNN.
“My brother was murdered in broad daylight with a knee to his neck for nine minutes,” said Philonise Floyd.
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