Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Thursday was sentenced to 20 years and 5 months for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
George Floyd died in spring 2020 after Chauvin knelt on his neck for 8 minutes during an arrest.
According the medical examiner, Floyd had a “fatal level” of fentanyl in his system at the time of his death.
Chauvin was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter
Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in April 2021.
Chauvin is already serving a 22.5 year sentence for the federal charges.
The sentences will be served concurrently, NBC News reported.
NBC News reported:
Derek Chauvin was sentenced to just more than 20 years in prison Thursday, nearly seven months after he pleaded guilty to federal charges that he violated George Floyd’s civil rights when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9½ minutes as he was detaining him in May 2020.
Federal prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson to sentence Chauvin to 25 years, on the high end of the 20- to 25-year range of the plea agreement, saying Chauvin abused his authority as a police officer and acted callously.
The defense had asked for 20 years, saying Chauvin was remorseful for what he did and that he has accepted responsibility.
Magnuson sentenced Chauvin to 21 years in prison, with credit for the time he has already served, bringing his sentence to 20 years and five months.
