A white ex-police officer was condemned for murdering African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. And now, he has been sentenced to 22 years and six months in jail.
According to the judge, Derek Chauvin’s punishment was built “on your abuse of a position of trust and authority, and also the particular cruelty shown” to Mr Floyd.
George Floyd, 48, passed away after Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes.
His assassination led to protests across the world against racism and police brutality.
Chauvin, 45, was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges last month. Moreover, his lawyer described the killing as “an error made in good faith”, at the time of his trial.
The ex-police officer, now a prisoner was told to register as a predatory offender. Also, he was banned from keeping firearms for the rest of his life.
Three other former officers also participated along with Chauvin in this police brutality. They were also separately charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
However, the Floyd family as well as their supporters welcomed the sentence.
“This historic sentence brings the Floyd family and our nation one step closer to healing by delivering closure and accountability,” lawyer Ben Crump tweeted.
Bridgett Floyd, Mr Floyd’s sister said the punishment “shows that matters of police brutality are finally being taken seriously” but there was still “a long way to go”.
Whereas, Joe Biden, the US President said that the punishment “seemed to be appropriate”. But he confessed that he did not know all the facts.
During the trial, Mr Floyd’s brother Terrence Floyd demanded a sentence of 40 years.
“Why? What were you thinking? What was going through your head when you had your knee on my brother’s neck?” he said.
On the other hand, Chauvin told the court he offered condolences to the Floyd family. He said there would be “some other information in the future” and he hoped “things will give you some peace of mind”.
Nevertheless, he did not apologise for his actions.
His punishment was “one of the longest a former police officer has ever received” for deadly force, said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
The George Floyd case
In May 2020, he went to a convenience store to buy a pack of cigarettes. But the shop assistant thought he had used a fake note and called the cops when he refused to give the cigarettes back.
Police arrived and ordered him out of his car and handcuffed him.
This act became a struggle when the cops forced the screaming man into their squad car. They brawled him to the ground and restrained him under their weight.
Then Chauvin pushed his knee into the back of Mr Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
Although the man was constantly pleading that he couldn’t breathe and begging “please, please, please”, but Chauvin didn’t stop.
Mr Floyd was motionless when the ambulance arrived and was declared dead about an hour later.
