George Floyd Murder: Former US Cop Derek Chauvin Handed Another 21-Year Sentence For Violating Civil Rights

The ex-Minneapolis police officer was already serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence on state charges of murder and manslaughter of Floyd in May 2020.

Convicted of the murder of African American man George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, a former US police officer was sentenced to another 21 years in prison on Thursday for breaching Floyd's civil rights, reported news agency ANI.

The ex-Minneapolis police officer was already serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence on state charges of murder and manslaughter of Floyd in May 2020 that caused huge protests in the country and elsewhere against police brutality and racism.

"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, reported ANI.

On Dec 15, 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty in federal court 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.

"In no uncertain terms, George Floyd should be alive today," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in its December 2021 judgement, reported ANI.

"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. 

After more than a month-long trial, the federal jury On Feb 24, 2022 convicted three other officers - former Minneapolis Police Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Kiernan Lane - of violating civil rights statute in the George Floyd murder. FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had investigated the case.

(With ANI inputs)