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Minneapolis ex-cop Chauvin gets 21 years in prison for violating Floyd's rights

Friday, 08 July 2022 1:42 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 08 July 2022 10:46 AM ]

In this image taken from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over Chauvin's sentencing, Friday, June 25, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. (AP photo)

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating African American George Floyd's civil rights during the deadly May 2020 arrest.

US District Judge Paul Magnuson announced the sentence on Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota, Reuters reported.

The judge called Chauvin's actions offensive and unconscionable. The cop was convicted last year of murdering Floyd after a trial in state court last year.

Chauvin already is serving a sentence of 22-1/2 years in a Minnesota prison. The federal sentence will run concurrently and will see Chauvin moved to federal prison.

The judge said he was crediting Chauvin for seven months already served in state prison, removing those from the 21-year federal sentence.

"To put your knee on another person's neck until they expire is wrong, and thus you need to be substantially punished," judge Magnuson said.

Chauvin, a White man, has already been convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges for knocking down Floyd, a Black man, on a street in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, which led to his death.

He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in that case by the Hennepin County District Court in June.

Under Minnesota law, Chauvin will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence, or 15 years, before he is eligible for supervised release.

The 46-year-old Chauvin admitted he violated Floyd's right not to face "unreasonable seizure" by kneeling on the handcuffed Black man's neck for more than 9 minutes in a murder captured on cellphone video.

Chauvin was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the case that has hogged headlines across the globe.

Derek Chauvin pleads guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights

Derek Chauvin, a White man, has already been convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges for knocking down Floyd, a Black man, on a street in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, which led to his death.

Floyd’s final moments, which were filmed by a bystander, led to largescale protests in the US against police brutality and institutionalized racism against African-Americans and Asian-Americans.

The judge also ordered Chauvin to pay restitution in an amount yet to be determined.

Chauvin's decision to plead guilty averted a second criminal trial for him, but almost certainly means he will spend more time behind bars.

The teenager whose 2020 video recording of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck before he died in police custody was awarded a 2021 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation last year.

Eighteen-year-old Darnella Frazier’s video was an important piece of evidence used in the trial of Chauvin.

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