*Today (12/15/21) former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of George Floyd, the Black man he was found guilty of murdering.
Chauvin, who was convicted in June, is currently in prison, serving a 22 ½-year sentence. Chauvin appeared in court to change his plea in the federal case, which had been poised to go to trial next month.
In addition to the charges he faced in relation to Floyd’s murder in 2020, the federal case accused Chauvin of violating an unnamed 14-year-old’s civil rights in late 2017, when he “held Juvenile 1 by the throat and struck Juvenile 1 multiple times in the head with a flashlight,” according to court documents.
Chauvin’s guilty plea also applies to those charges, which accused him of unreasonable seizure and unreasonable force by a police officer.
“Federal prosecutors are recommending a sentence of up to 25 years” for the civil rights violations, Minnesota Public Radio reports.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison welcomed Chauvin’s change in plea, which he called “important and historic.”
“Nobody is above the law, and nobody is beneath it,” Ellison said in a statement sent to NPR. “While Floyd’s life is lost to his family and all of us, I hope Chauvin’s change of plea will mark a new beginning for equal justice under the law, respectful treatment for every person in our society, and greater trust in our system of justice.”
As Chauvin entered his new plea, Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, told another man in the courtroom, “It’s a good day for justice.”
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