*Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin plans to appeal his murder conviction and prison sentence in the George Floyd case.
Chauvin was sentenced in June to a little over two decades in prison for the killing of Floyd last May on Memorial Day. He will be 67 years old when he is released from prison.
Speaking in court at Chauvin’s sentencing, Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank argued that Chauvin abused his power as a police officer when he killed Floyd.
“This case wasn’t about police officers, all police officers. It wasn’t about policing. This case was about Derek Chauvin disregarding all that training he received and assaulting Mr. Floyd until he suffocated to death,” he said, as reported by CNN. “Mr. Chauvin abused his position of trust and authority as a police officer by doing just that — just disregarding all of his training,” he added.
Floyd, a Black man, died on Memorial Day in 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd cried out for his mother and said “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times. Video footage of the fatal encounter went viral, fueling worldwide protests in response to Floyd’s killing.
READ MORE: George Floyd’s Killer Derek Chauvin Pleads Not Guilty to Violating Teen’s Civil Rights in 2017
Chauvin was convicted in April for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He is one of four cops also charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights during his arrest in May 2020.
Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao have been charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights in ways that “resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, George Floyd,” according to the federal grand jury indictment.
Per CNN, a federal grand jury indicted the ex-cops in May. Thao and Kueng also were charged for failure to intervene while Chauvin used his knee on Floyd’s neck to crush the life out of him.
Floyd, a Black man, died on Memorial Day in 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd cried out for his mother and said “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times. Video footage of the fatal encounter went viral, fueling worldwide protests in response to Floyd’s killing.
Here’s more from the Daily News:
In an appeal filed Thursday, Chauvin outlined 14 grounds on which the motion is based, including Judge Peter Cahill’s refusal to move the trial out of Hennepin County due to the publicity surrounding the case. He argued that Cahill also abused his discretion when he rejected a request to sequester the jury for the duration of the trial as well as when he denied calls to postpone the trial or grant a new one. Chauvin additionally noted that he has no attorney nor a means to pay for one. His case before Cahill was funded by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association’s legal defense fund.
Chauvin was convicted of Floyd’s murder in April 2021 and is imprisoned at Minnesota’s maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights, where he is currently serving a 22.5-year sentence.
Thao, Kueng and Lane are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. They have pleaded not guilty and their state trial has yet to begin.
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