Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who killed George Floyd on a Minneapolis street last year, has been sentenced to 22 and half years in prison.
Chauvin, on appeared in court on Friday in a light gray suit and tie and white shirt, spoke briefly before his sentencing, offering his “condolences to the Floyd family.”
Chauvin, 45, was convicted in April on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his role in Floyd’s death.
Related: Derek Chauvin Found Guilty Of Killing George Floyd
Chauvin’s post-verdict motion for a new trial was denied by a judge hours before the hearing.
Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill ruled Thursday night that Chauvin “failed to demonstrate … the Court abused its discretion or committed error such that Defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial.”
Prosecutors for the state of Minnesota have requested a 30-year prison sentence, saying it “would properly account for the profound impact of Defendant’s conduct on the victim, the victim’s family, and the community,” according to a sentencing memo.
However, Chauvin has no prior criminal record, so Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines recommend about 12 and a half years in prison for each murder charge and about four years for the manslaughter charge.
The guilty verdict on all three charges against Chauvin came nearly a year after he impassively kneeled on the neck and back of Floyd, handcuffed and lying prone on the street, for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
Under the officer’s knees, the 46-year-old Black man gasped for air, repeatedly exclaimed “I can’t breathe” and ultimately went silent as a group of horrified bystanders looked on.
Floyd’s final moments, captured on searing cell phone footage by a 17-year-old, illustrated in clear visuals what Black Americans have long said about how the criminal justice system treats Black people.
Floyd’s death set off mass protests across the globe as well as incidents of looting and unrest. (CNN)
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