Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
Chauvin, 46, pleaded guilty to the separate federal civil rights charges in December.
He is already serving a 22-year state prison sentence for the on-duty murder of Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man.
The two sentences will run concurrently and Chauvin will now be moved to a federal prison.
But he will almost certainly spend more time behind bars following the sentencing. His sentence is due to be followed by five years of supervised release.
“George’s life matters,” Mr Floyd’s brother, Philonese, said in court on Thursday as he asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 25 years.
Chauvin, who is white, was convicted on murder and manslaughter charges in Minnesota for kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
The killing – captured on a bystander’s phone camera – sparked global outrage and a wave of demonstrations against racial injustice and police use of force.
The federal charges against Chauvin included two counts for depriving Floyd of his rights by kneeling on his neck as he was in handcuffs, and by failing to provide medical care during the May 2020 arrest.
