Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22.5 years for murder of George Floyd; Chauvin issues cryptic public message to Floyd family

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison in connection with the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Judge Peter A. Cahill issued the sentencing Friday.

A jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in April.

Prosecutors initially requested a 30-year sentence following the guilty verdict, but Chauvin's attorney asked for only probation and time served.

In remarks delivered directly to Floyd's family, Chauvin said during the Friday afternoon hearing that he wanted to give his "condolences" to the Floyd family, but announced that he could not elaborate on the sentiment or state any further information.

"Due to some additional legal matters at hand, I'm not able to give a full formal statement at this time," said Chauvin, who is also facing federal civil rights charges in connection with Floyd's 2020 death. "But, very briefly, I want to give my condolences to the Floyd family. There's going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest, and I hope things will give you some peace of mind."

Bridgett Floyd, who George Floyd's sister and founder of the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, spoke out on the development just moments after the judge handed the sentencing down.

"The sentence handed down today to the Minneapolis police officer who killed my brother George Floyd shows that matters of police brutality are finally being taken seriously," the statement said according to CNN. "However, we have a long way to go and many changes to make before black and brown people finally feel like they are being treated fairly and humanely by law enforcement in this country."

The statement continued, "Our focus at the George Floyd Memorial Foundation will now move to building support to ensure that the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act becomes law and brings with it the hope for the substantive change that we need so desperately in this country."

This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.

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