Former police officer pleads guilty to federal charges in murder of George Floyd

By Andy Roesgen

CHICAGO, United States (AA) - The former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in the murder of George Floyd is facing the prospect of more years behind bars after pleading guilty Wednesday to separate federal charges in Floyd's death.

Derek Chauvin appeared in court to confirm his guilty pleas. The charges included depriving Floyd of his rights when Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for about nine minutes during a routine police interaction, then failing to render medical aid.

Floyd's death in May 2020, caught on a bystander’s cell phone, triggered worldwide demonstrations, some violent, and led to a nationwide reckoning on race and policing in the US.

Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in a highly-watched trial last spring, then sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

Critics said the prison time was too lenient, given that he could be eligible for parole in about 14 years.

But federal prosecutors are now asking for a 25-year prison sentence, that would run concurrently with his current sentence. Under those guidelines, Chauvin could spend an additional six years in prison, before he is eligible for parole.

The decision will be up to the judge who accepted Chauvin's guilty plea but the judge did not set a date yet for sentencing.

At his sentencing in June, Chauvin suggested that there was more to the story in Floyd's death, cryptically saying that there would be more information coming out that was of interest to the Floyd family.

But so far, he has not provided any explanation or apology for what he did.

As part of Wednesday's plea deal, Chauvin admitted guilt in violating the civil rights of a 14-year-old boy in 2017 when he held the boy by his throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee against the boy's neck.

As with Floyd, the boy was handcuffed and not resisting.

Three other former police officers who were with Chauvin on the day of Floyd's death will face state charges next year.