derek chauvin

Derek Michael Chauvin is an American former police officer who murdered George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On May 25, 2020, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for about nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the street, calling out "I can't breathe," during an arrest made with three other officers. Chauvin was dismissed by the Minneapolis Police Department on May 26 and arrested on May 29. The murder set off a series of protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, across the United States and around the world.

Chauvin was a member of the Minneapolis Police Department from 2001 to 2020. In his career, Chauvin had 18 complaints against him in his official record and was involved in three police shootings, one of which was fatal. He received two letters of reprimand for misconduct. He received two medals of valor and two commendation medals during his career.

In early 2021, Chauvin was put on trial for unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter of Floyd before a jury in the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Court. On April 20, he was convicted on all of the charges. On June 25, he was sentenced to 22½ years in prison (with credit given for 199 days time served), with the possibility of supervised release after 15 years (two thirds of his sentence) contingent on factors such as good behavior. Requests to the Minnesota Supreme Court and Supreme Court of the United States for review were denied.

Chauvin pleaded guilty in late 2021 to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights by using unreasonable force and ignoring Floyd's serious medical needs. Simultaneously, Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating a 14-year-old boy's civil rights in 2017 by using unreasonable force. In mid-2022, Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd's civil rights. The federal and state sentences are to run concurrently. The Minnesota Department of Corrections lists Chauvin's anticipated release date on the state sentence as December 10, 2035. For the federal charges, Chauvin will likely be released from prison in the year 2038. Chauvin filed a motion in federal court in mid-November 2023 attempting to vacate his guilty plea.

After the conclusion of the criminal and civil rights cases, Chauvin was transferred in August 2022 from Oak Park Heights prison in Minnesota to FCI Tucson in Arizona, a medium-security federal facility, to serve his sentence. He was stabbed by another inmate at the federal facility on November 24, 2023.