Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who killed George Floyd on a Minneapolis street last year, was sentenced Friday to 22 and half years in prison.
Chauvin, in a light gray suit and tie and white shirt, spoke briefly before the sentence was imposed, offering his “condolences to the Floyd family.”
Under Minnesota law, Chauvin will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence, or 15 years – and he will be eligible for supervised release for the remaining seven and a half years.
The sentence exceeds the Minnesota sentencing guideline range of 10 years and eight months to 15 years for the crime. Floyd’s death sparked massive protests across the nation over police brutality.
Judge Peter Cahill said the sentence was not based on emotion or public opinion. He wanted to “acknowledge the deep and tremendous pain that all of the families are feeling, especially the Floyd family,” the judge said.
In a 22 page memorandum, Cahill wrote that two aggravating factors warranted a harsher sentence – that Chauvin “abused his position of trust or authority” and treated Floyd with “particular cruelty.” Chauvin, the judge wrote, treated Floyd “without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings.”
Cahill said the former officer “objectively remained indifferent to Mr. Floyd’s pleas’ even as Mr. Floyd was begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die.”
“Mr. Chauvin’s prolonged restraint of Mr. Floyd was also much longer and more painful than the typical scenario in a second-degree or third-degree murder or second-degree manslaughter case,” the judge wrote.
Chauvin will remain in a restricted housing unit separated from the general population at the Minnesota Correctional Facility- Oak Park Heights “for the time being,” Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson Sarah Fitzgerald told CNN.
“His ultimate placement is undetermined, but his safety will be our predominate concern when determining final placement,” Fitzgerald said, adding Chauvin has been on administrative segregation status for his “general safety.”
People watch hearing on phone at corner where Floyd was killed
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.
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.
At the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street in Minneapolis, where Floyd took his last breaths, people watched the hearing on mobile phones.
Outside the court complex, Floyd supporters expressed mixed emotions about the prison term.
Floyd’s sister, Bridgett, who founded the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, said in a statement that the sentence “shows that matters of police brutality are finally being taken seriously.”
“However, we have a long way to go and many changes to make before Black and brown people finally feel like they are being treated fairly and humanely by law enforcement in this country,” she added.
Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, in a statement, said the “historic sentence” brings the family and country “one step closer to healing by delivering closure and accountability.”
“With Chauvin’s sentence, we take a significant step forward – something that was unimaginable a very short time ago,” he said.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told reporters he hoped “this moment gives us pause and allows us to rededicate ourselves to the real societal change that will move us much further along the road to justice.”