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A federal judge on Wednesday passed a plea deal that would sentence former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to between 20 and 25 years in prison for violating the rights of George Floyd, whose assassination in 2020 was followed by mass protests.
Chauvin is already serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence for Floyd’s murder, and last month asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn his sentence. The assassination of Floyd, a black man, helped trigger a national movement against racism and police violence after a viral video showed Chauvin kneeling on the man’s neck in handcuffs for more than nine minutes.
Chauvin, who is White, initially pleaded not guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd’s constitutional rights. But late last year, he pleaded guilty to one charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and one to violating a teenager’s rights in another case; Prosecutors said they would dismiss other charges and recommend that a sentence be served at the same time as the murder sentence.
“The day is good for justice,” Floyd’s brother, Philoniz Floyd, told the court in December when Chauvin filed the petition. In a joint statement issued at the time, lawyers for Floyd’s family said developments showed progress toward holding police accountable.
“We all need to keep marching,” wrote lawyers Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms. “We all need to continue to fight injustice. We must do this for George to ensure that his only life and shocking death will change the future for countless others. “
Chauvin’s lawyer did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Three other former Minneapolis officers – all present at Floyd’s assassination – were found guilty of violating Floyd’s rights in February after a month-long trial that focused on officers’ responsibilities when a colleague abused their badge. The jury concluded that J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao had failed to provide medical assistance to Floyd, and called on Kueng and Tao to be responsible for the non-intervention.
Under the federal plea agreement, Chauvin admitted that he had deprived Floyd of “the right to be released from unreasonable detention, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.” On May 25, 2020, according to court documents, Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck and body, even after the 46-year-old did not react.
“The defendant admits that by using this unreasonable and excessive force, he acted intentionally and recklessly and recklessly disregarding the consequences for Mr Floyd’s life,” the plea agreement said. It says that Chauvin’s actions led to Floyd’s death and notes that he was trained that officers should stop using force when someone does not resist, among other imperatives.
U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson wrote on Wednesday that the court had waited to accept Shaven’s federal request until a “preliminary investigation” report was released.
“This report has already been issued and the acceptance of the plea is appropriate,” Magnuson said, and the court will convict Chauvin on his terms.
The agreement says the court must sentence Chauvin to at least 20 years in prison and no more than 25 years.
Last year, a jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after sometimes emotional testimony from family, experts, officials and bystanders protesting in vain against Floyd’s treatment. The state trial against Chauvin focuses heavily on the video from a mobile phone, which made the murder of Floyd a worldwide outrage.
The video, taken by a teenager, records Floyd saying “I can’t breathe” before he relaxes and falls silent. The trial of Chauvin has become for many a key test for the judiciary amid outrage over the use of excessive force by law enforcement and racism in America.
Holly Bailey contributed to this report.
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