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Derek Chauvin pleads guilty to civil rights crimes

December 15, 2021

A former police officer has pleaded guilty to federal charges in the killing of George Floyd. The incident sparked nationwide protests over police brutality and led to the officer's conviction on state murder charges.

https://p.dw.com/p/44KQH
A memorial gravestone for George Floyd is surrounded by snow at Say Their Names Cemetery on December 12, 2021, in Minneapolis
George Floyd died after a police officer held him down with a knee pressing his neck for over nine minutes Image: Chris Tuite/ImageSPACE/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Wednesday pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges related to the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Chauvin, who appeared at the US Federal District Court in St. Paul, admitted to using excessive force while pressing his knee upon Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as the handcuffed Black man begged for help before dying.

Chauvin had entered a not-guilty plea in September but reversed course after being warned by a federal judge that he could ultimately face life in prison if convicted. In June, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in state prison for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.  The federal charges carry a 20-25 year sentence which is to be served concurrently to the state charges. Chauvin is appealing the state sentence but will have to serve the federal sentence regardless of the outcome of his appeal.

A video that sparked global outrage

His June sentencing after more than a year of protests and social unrest was seen as a watershed moment as police are rarely convicted in the deaths of Black victims in the United States. The case made international headlines when harrowing video footage of the incident went viral, sparking one of the largest sustained protest movements the US has seen in decades.

Three Black men in suit and tie (George Floyd's brothers Philonise [l] and Rodney [r] with their nephew Brandon Williams [c]) stand in front of the US District Coiurt in St.Paul, Minnesota, with fists raised
Floyd's brothers Philonise (l) and Rodney (r) appeared with their nephew Brandon Williams (c) to hear Chauvin's pleaImage: AFP via Getty Images

Three other officers who were at the scene also face federal civil rights charges for failing to intervene on the victim's behalf and are scheduled to stand trial early next year.

Floyd, 46, was detained on suspicion that he had used a counterfeit $20 bill to pay for cigarettes at a party store on a holiday weekend. A federal grand jury found that Chauvin, who arrived at the scene after his colleagues had handcuffed Floyd, had willfully violated civil rights protecting him against unreasonable seizure and unreasonable use of force by a police officer.

Separately, Chauvin also pleaded guilty to having used excessive force against a 14-year-old boy during a 2017 arrest.

Chauvin sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for murder of George Floyd

js/sms (AFP, Reuters)