ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Derek Chauvin will be sentenced in Federal Court on Thursday after reaching a plea agreement in May.The ex-Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty to violating George Floyd’s civil rights in the May 2020 arrest when he kept his knee on his neck, killing him, at 38th and Chicago.
Chauvin pleaded guilty Dec. 15, 2021, admitting for the first time he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck — even after he became unresponsive — resulting in Floyd's death on May 25, 2020.
The white former officer admitted he willfully deprived Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure, including unreasonable force by a police officer.He also pleaded guilty to unrelated but similar charges related to excessive use of force against a then-14-year-old boy, John Pope, who is also Black, in 2017.
Pope and another woman, who alleges Chauvin assaulted her while he was on the force, have filed civil lawsuits against Chauvin and the City of Minneapolis.The sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.