George Floyd was killed on May 25 2020 by Former Minneapolis police officer, David
Chauvin. On Dec. 15 2021, he pleaded guilty to depriving Floyd of his rights. Floyd died when
Chauvin applied lethal force on Floyd’s neck for 9 ½ minutes during an attempt to detain him.
Three months earlier Chauvin had pleaded not guilty to these charges. Though pleading
not guilty he was still charged with depriving Floyd’s rights because he failed to provide Floyd
with health care. Chauvin was also convicted of manslaughter and murder.
Chauvin is in the process of serving his 22 ½ year state prison sentence, one of the
longest sentences a police officer has faced for killing while on duty. In the most recent hearing,
federal prosecutors called for Chauvin to be sentenced to 20 to 25 years in federal prison. His
federal sentence would be served simultaneously with his state sentence. The decision will be
made in a later hearing.
Nova Brown, a senior at Kamehameha Schools, stated, “As someone who was loud in my
support of the BLM movement, I am happy to see Chauvin [and the other officers] receiving
punishment for what they did. Though remember that Chauvin did not plead guilty because he
felt guilt over Floyd’s death, he pleaded guilty to avoid the possibility of life in prison.”
Thomas Lane, Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, the other officers at the scene of George
Floyd’s arrest, will face a state trial early next year for aiding in the murder and manslaughter.
On Sept. 23rd 2021, Chauvin said that he intended to appeal his conviction and sentence,
believing that the judge was unfair and abused his discretion.