Highlights
- African American man George Floyd died in May 2020.
- His death led to several protests against police brutality and racism in the US.
- Former US cop Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison for Floyd's death.
George Floyd death: African American man George Floyd's death which took place in May 2020, is again making headlines, as former US cop, Derek Chauvin got sentenced to 21 years in prison for his "racially motivated" killing. Chauvin, who is already serving a 22 sentence on state charges of murder and manslaughter, ignited several protests against police brutality and racism with Floyd's killing.
"The Justice Department announced today that former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, 46, was sentenced to serve 252 months in prison with credit for time served for depriving George Floyd Jr. and a then-14-year-old child of their constitutional rights," the US Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday.
"In no uncertain terms, George Floyd should be alive today"
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said, "In no uncertain terms, George Floyd should be alive today."
"Defendant Chauvin's use of excessive force and his failure to provide medical care resulted in Floyd's senseless murder. Chauvin's unlawful actions in a separate incident also resulted in injury to a 14-year-old child. This sentence should send a strong message that the Justice Department stands ready to prosecute law enforcement officers who use deadly force without basis. While no amount of prison time can reverse the tragic consequences of Derek Chauvin's violent actions, we hope that this sentence provides some small measure of justice for the families and communities impacted," Clarke added.
All that Chauvin pleaded guilty to
Chauvin will be sent to Minnesota’s only maximum-security prison. He pleaded guilty in federal court in December 2021 and admitted to violating a federal criminal civil rights statute on two separate occasions. Chauvin pleaded guilty to willfully depriving Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in Floyd's bodily injury and death. Chauvin also pleaded guilty to willfully depriving a then-14-year-old child of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in the child's bodily injury.
On Feb. 24, 2022, following a more than month-long trial, a federal jury convicted three other officers -- former Minneapolis Police Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Kiernan Lane -- of violating the same criminal civil rights statute.
(With ANI Inputs)
