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Derek Chauvin Pleads Guilty to Violating Floyd’s, Other Teen’s Civil Rights

Former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin appeared in federal court on Wednesday morning to change his plea to guilty over federal charges that he violated George Floyd’s constitutional rights and those of a teen boy in 2017.

Derek Chauvin changes plea guilty of violating George Floyd’s federal civil rights

According to the charges against Former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin violated George Floyd’s constitutional rights. The specific rights are to be free of unreasonable force by a police officer.

Chauvin violated these rights when he pressed his left knee on Floyd’s neck, then held his right knee on Floyd’s back and arm as Floyd lay on the ground, handcuffed and not resisting for 9 1/2 minutes in May 2020. The violation is because Chauvin continued to restrain Floyd by force even after he became unresponsive.

Chauvin, 45, was found guilty of second-and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter on April 20, 2021.

The plea on Wednesday by Chauvin will allow the former officer to avoid another high-profile trial. Also, the claim of responsibility could help Chauvin receive a reduced sentence by pleading guilty. Without making a plea deal, Chauvin faced the possibility of life in prison.

Chauvin remains in prison on a 22 1/2 year sentence for the state murder and manslaughter charges imposed by the State.

Federal prosecutors requested that Chauvin be sentenced to 20 to 25 years in federal prison, with five years of supervised probation and agreeing to never work again as a police officer. Under the agreement, Chauvin’s federal sentence would be served concurrently with his state sentence.

A federal court will sentence Chauvin at a later date. The judge wants a pre-sentence investigation before agreeing to sentencing.

Chauvin pleads guilty in another non-George Floyd related federal case

In addition, Chauvin also pleaded guilty in a separate federal indictment, of which he initially pleaded not guilty, involving a September 2017 encounter that alleges he deprived a 14-year-old boy of his civil rights, NBC reported. Chauvin was accused of holding a black teenager by the throat using excessive force and striking him in the head multiple times with a flashlight. In that case, Chauvin was also reported to have held his knee against the boy’s neck and upper back while the teenager was being held face down, handcuffed, and not resisting arrest. The teenager was also bleeding from the ear and required two stitches.

In the 2017 police report of the encounter, Chauvin wrote in his description that the teen was 6-foot-2 and about 240 pounds and had resisted arrest. Chauvin reported he “used bodyweight to pin” the suspect to the floor.