If an incident compels people to come out in hordes to protest during a pandemic, it’d have to be incredibly disturbing and inflammatory.
And that’s exactly what the murder of George Floyd was.
In May last year, a video of a police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes shocked the world as it circulated on social media.
The 46-year-old African American man ended up dying.
His death sparked massive protests all over the country over what African Americans saw as yet another act of police brutality exacted upon African Americans.
Many protestors, even those abroad, called for justice.
Well, it seems that they may finally have got it.
George Floyd Murderer Sentenced to 22.5 Years in Prison
The former police officer who killed Floyd – Derek Chauvin – was sentenced yesterday (25 June) to 22 and a half years in prison for murder.
A jury earlier found the 45-year-old guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
The judge made it clear that while the murder sparked outrage all over the world, he was not swayed by the case’s high publicity.
“I’m not basing my sentence on public opinion. I’m not basing it on the attempt to send any messages. The job of a trial court judge is to apply the law to specific facts and to deal with individual cases,” he said.
At the start of the hearing, several members of Floyd’s family addressed the court.
Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, spoke to Chauvin directly, saying: “What was going through your head as you had your knee on my brother’s neck?”
He then asked the judge for the maximum sentence, adding: “We don’t want to see no more slaps on the wrist. We’ve been through that already.”
Floyd’s seven-year-old daughter Gianna also appeared in a video recording.
“I ask about him all the time,” she said. “My daddy always used to help me brush my teeth.”
When asked what she would say to him if she could see him again, she said: “It would be I miss you and I love you.”
His Mother Still Believes He is Innocent
Despite what some would call overwhelming evidence, Chauvin’s mother said she would always believe her son was innocent.
She added that her life’s two happiest moments were giving birth to Chauvin and pinning his police badge on him when he joined the Minneapolis Police Department.
“Derek has played over and over again in his head the events of that day,” she said.
“I have seen the toll it has taken on him. I believe a lengthy sentence will not serve Derek well. When you sentence my son, you will also be sentencing me.”
As for Chauvin, he said he could not give a full statement due to “additional legal matters.”
“But very briefly though, I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family,” he said. “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. Thank you,” he said.
What Happened
On 25 May last year, a convenience store employee in Minneapolis called the police alleging that Floyd had used a fake S$20 note to buy some cigarettes.
Several minutes later, police officers arrived and located Floyd, who was in a car. After approaching the car, one of the officers pulled his gun out and ordered Floyd to show his hands.
The officers then reportedly struggled to put Floyd in the police car.
Then, Chauvin, who arrived sometime after, pulled Floyd out of the car and pushed him onto the floor.
Chauvin then knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Two other officers knelt on the 43-year-old man’s body as well.
Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”, but the officers persisted and continued kneeling on him.
Six minutes later, Floyd became unresponsive. An ambulance arrived and he was later pronounced dead.
An autopsy later confirmed that Floyd had died of asphyxiation.
Featured Image: Tverdokhlib / Shutterstock.com ; Youtube (NBCNews)