US Ex-Cop To Be Sentenced For Killing George Floyd

• Chauvin and three colleagues arrested George Floyd in May last year on suspicion of having passed a fake $20 bill in a store in Minneapolis
• He then knelt on the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly 10 minutes, indifferent to the dying man’s groans

Former policeman Derek Chauvin could be ordered behind bars for 30 years on Friday when he is sentenced for the murder of African American George Floyd, a killing that sparked America’s biggest demonstrations for racial justice in decades.

Minnesota law provides for a minimum sentence of 12.5 years for the white, 45-year-old killer, who has been jailed since being convicted on three counts of murder and manslaughter two months ago.

Read also: George Floyd Family Calls For Police Reform On Anniversary Of Murder

But Judge Peter Cahill, who will hand down the sentence at 1:30 pm (1830 GMT) in a Minneapolis court, identified aggravating circumstances that could signal a much heavier punishment.

He said Chauvin had “abused his position of trust and authority,” treated Floyd with “particular cruelty” in front of minors and “committed the crime as a group with the active participation of at least three other” officers.

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