Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years in Prison for George Floyd Killing
Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin at his sentencing hearing on Friday, June 25, 2021. Still image from pool video.
Thirteen months to the day after kneeling on the neck of George Floyd outside a south Minneapolis corner store, former officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to serve more than 22 years in prison.
Judge Peter Cahill—who presided over the jury trial—delivered the sentence in a short address to the court and filed a 22-page sentencing memo that outlined his decision.
Minnesota Assistant Attorney General and prosecutor on the case, Matthew Frank, asked Cahill for a 30-year sentence, saying that four aggravating factors should increase the state guidelines.
In a document filed before the sentencing hearing, prosecutors outlined the aggravating factors, alleging that Chauvin abused his position of trust and authority, acted with particular cruelty, acted “in concert with three other individuals who all actively participated in the crime,” and that Chauvin committed the offenses in the presence of children who were nearby at the time.
After a jury trial that ended in April, Chauvin was convicted of 2nd-degree unintentional murder, 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter.
During the sentencing hearing Friday, June 25, Floyd’s family members read victim impact statements detailing how the crime has affected them.
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“The full extent of our pain and trauma will never be seen with the naked eye,” said Brandon Williams, Floyd's nephew. “Our family is forever broken.”
“I wanted to know from the man himself: why?” Terrence Floyd—George’s brother—asked of Chauvin during his victim statement in the courtroom. “What were you thinking? What was going through your head when you had your knee on my brother's neck?”
Chauvin is one of four officers charged in Floyd’s killing. The three other officers have trials set for next year. Chauvin was one of the responding officers at the scene May 25, 2020, near E. 38th St. & Chicago Ave. after Floyd was reported to have passed a counterfeit bill at Cup Foods, a longtime store at the corner.
Seen in video recorded by bystanders that quickly spread around the world, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck as he lay next to a squad car. The video and several others played in detail throughout the trial showed Floyd being loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson argued on behalf of Chauvin, who sat in the courtroom nearby, wearing a grey suit, grey tie and blue medical mask.
Also addressing the court was Chauvin’s mother, Carolyn Pawlenty, who said that her son is a “good man,” who has been wrongfully maligned in the media.
“Derek devoted 19 years of his life to the Minneapolis Police Department,” saying her son’s identity had been reduced to that of a racist. “Derek has played over and over in his head the events of that day (and) I’ve seen the toll it’s taken on him,” Pawlenty said.
When called to the lectern for his opportunity to speak, Chauvin said that because of “additional legal matters at hand,” he couldn’t give a full statement. Chauvin said “I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family,” and looked toward them in the courtroom before a short recess. He did not detail what those legal matters were but vaguely mentioned “some other information” to be released in the near future that would help the Floyd family reach “peace of mind.”