A judge on Friday sentenced the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
He was credited for 199 days he had already served.
Chauvin, 45, was found guilty in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. The jury had heard evidence that Chauvin kneeled on Floyd for more than nine minutes as Floyd begged for his life.
"Part of the mission of the Minneapolis Police Department is to give citizens 'voice and respect,'" Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill wrote in his sentencing memo. "Here, Mr. Chauvin, rather than pursuing the MPD mission, treated Mr. Floyd without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings and which he certainly would have extended to a friend or neighbor."
A first-time offender charged with second-degree murder in Minnesota, like Chauvin, usually faces a sentence of 12 1/2 years in prison. Cahill had previously ruled that aggregating factors in the crime — that Chauvin killed Floyd in front of children, abused his authority as an officer, and treated Floyd with "particular cruelty" — warranted a longer sentence.
The prosecution had asked the judge to impose a sentence of 30 years. The defense argued in a motion that Chauvin should face only probation and time served, saying cops have shorter life spans than the average person.
Chauvin has been in custody since the guilty verdict. On Friday morning, Cahill denied a request from Chauvin's defense team for a new trial.
Chauvin also faces federal civil-rights charges stemming from Floyd's murder and the violent 2017 arrest of a 14-year-old.
The trial of three other former Minneapolis officers who were with Chauvin when he killed Floyd is scheduled for March. They face state charges of aiding and abetting in the killing.
