A local activist reacts to the sentencing of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin on June 25, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images)

 

Judge Peter Cahill has sentenced former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. 

A jury in Minneapolis convicted Chauvin of murdering Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes after Floyd was arrested on suspicion of having used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. Two other officers assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd, while another prevented bystanders from interfering. All four officers were subsequently fired, and all are facing state and federal charges.