Federal prosecutors on Wednesday requested that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin be sentenced to 25 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights. In December, Chauvin pleaded guilty to that charge, finally acknowledging that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after Floyd was unresponsive, resulted in his death.
In the court filing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office advised a 300-month sentence to be followed by five years of supervised release for Chauvin. The document stated that it’s “reasonable and appropriate” given the crimes committed. It also said that the former officer’s actions represented “a series of deliberate choices — to disregard his training, to ignore the victims’ pleas, and to discount the warnings of bystanders,” as opposed to impulsive actions taken in the spur of the moment.
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As part of his plea arrangement, Chauvin also pleaded guilty to violating the rights of a then-14-year-old Black boy who he restrained in a different case in 2017.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson ultimately accepted the plea deal, in which both the defense and prosecution agreed Chauvin should receive 20 to 25 years.
Chauvin admitted that he willfully denied Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure which included unreasonable force by a police officer. He kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes and the viral recording of the incident ignited protests in Minneapolis. Demonstrations calling out police brutality and racism spread around the country then around the world in the wake of Floyd’s death. Prosecutors are leaning toward 25 years.
Chauvin is already serving a 22½-year sentence in state prison in Minnesota on last last year’s second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter convictions for Floyd’s death.
A sentencing date on the federal charges is pending.
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