Derek Chauvin sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd's civil rights

Derek Chauvin.
(Image credit: Minnesota Department of Corrections via Getty Images)

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced on Thursday to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd's civil rights.

In May 2020, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes while detaining him outside of a Minneapolis market. Floyd, an unarmed Black man, said he couldn't breathe, and then became unresponsive. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty during a state trial of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison. His federal sentence will be served concurrently.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.