Former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin to be sentenced in George Floyd murder - CNBC

The criminal sentencing of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd began Friday afternoon with emotional victim impact statements from Floyd's family members.

Hours before, a judge denied a request for a new trial for Chauvin, whose brutally killing of Floyd, a Black man, whose videotaped death in May 2020 sparked demands for reform of U.S. police departments.

Chauvin held his knee on or near Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, as the 46-year-old was prone on the ground, while detaining him on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill for a purchase, as three other Minneapolis cops stood by.

"He's telling Mr. Chauvin, 'I can't breathe, I'm dying,' " a prosecutor said at the sentencing. "This is 9-and-a-half minutes of cruelty to a man who was begging for his life."

Floyd's brother Terrence Floyd addressed Chauvin, saying he wanted to ask him "why?"

"What were you thinking? What was in your thoughts that day, when you had your knee on my brother's neck?" asked Terrence Floyd, who at times paused to regain his composure.

"When you knew that he posted no threat anymore. When he was handcuffed? Why didn't you at least get up? Why did you stay there?"

Prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence Chauvin to 30 years in prison.

That is a decade less than the maximum possible sentence he faces on the charge of second-degree murder, the most serious of the three counts on which he was convicted by a jury on April 20 after trial.

Jurors also convicted Chauvin of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin's lawyer is asking the judge to sentence the 45-year-old white ex-police officer to probation, with time served in jail since last year.