Ex-police officer who murdered George Floyd sentenced to 22.5 years jail

One of the longest jail sentences faced by any U.S. police officer.

Alfie Kwa | June 26, 2021, 08:35 PM

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On June 25, Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.

Flyod died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the U.S., last year.

One of the longest jail sentence given to police officer

On June 25, Chauvin appeared in court and was sentenced to 22.5 years in jail, CNN reported. This is more than the sentencing guideline range of 10 years and eight months to 15 years for the crime.

Judge Peter Cahill explained that the heavier sentence was because Chauvin had not only "abused his position of trust or authority", but had also treated Floyd with "particular cruelty".

In a CNN video, Cahill said that the sentencing is not based on "any attempt to send any messages", adding:

"The job of a trial court judge is to apply the law to specific facts and to deal with individual cases."

Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison, told reporters that Chauvin's sentence was one of the longest ever received by any former police officer for using unlawful deadly force in the U.S according to National Public Radio.

Chauvin addressed Floyd family for the first time

Floyd's family, including his nephew, brother and 7-year-old daughter, also spoke in court on Friday.

When Floyd's daughter was asked what would she say to her father, the 7-year-old said she misses and loves him.

Floyd’s nephew, Brandon Williams, said that their family is "forever broken".

Chauvin said that he is unable to "give a full formal statement" at that time as there are legal matters at hand, New York Times reported. However, he gave his condolences to the Floyd family.

It was the first time that Chauvin spoke to the family directly.

Background to Floyd's death

Floyd was killed after being pinned to the ground by Chauvin, who was a former police officer, despite repeated pleas that he could not breathe.

In a 10 minute video was uploaded onto Facebook , Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for the entire duration of the video.

Chauvin ignored Floyd's constant gasps for breath and pleas that he could not breathe: "Please. Please, I can't breathe."

About four minutes into the video, Floyd became unresponsive. He remained unconscious as he was conveyed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he later died.

This led to what was said to be the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations.

A jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder on April 20.

Top images from CNN's courtroom video and Facebook.