In December, Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights. The case has provoked strong protests against police violence against blacks in the United States.
It was on the evening of May 25, 2020 that 46-year-old George Floyd was arrested by Minneapolis police after a store employee accused him of trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit 20-dollar bill.
Floyd was handcuffed, but when police tried to get him into the car, he resisted, ending up on the ground facing the street.
Passers-by filmed police officer Derek Chauvin having his knee on Floyd’s head and neck for about nine minutes. In the video, you can hear how Floyd says over 20 times that he can not breathe before his body becomes limp.
Floyd was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly thereafter.
– I really do not understand why you did what you did. Placing his knee on top of a man’s neck until he stops breathing is simply wrong, Judge Paul Magnuson said.
In practice, the new federal ruling puts a few years on top of the sentence Chauvin is already serving. He is also being transferred to a federal prison.