Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
Chauvin will serve his federal sentence while serving his 22-and-a-half-year sentence for state charges of murder and manslaughter.
Former police officer stuck George Floyd on the sidewalk of a Minneapolis corner store for more than nine minutes while he was dying on May 25, 2020.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson told Chauvin that what he did was “without harm” and “offensive.”
Mr Magnuson said: “I really don’t know why you did what you did.
Image: The assassination of George Floyd sparked protests around the world
“Putting your knee on a person’s neck until it expires is simply wrong.”
Floyd’s brother, Philonise, also called for the maximum possible punishment.
He said: “My family and I have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
“We’ll never get George’s life back.”
Federal prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Chauvin to 25 years.
Chauvin initially pleaded not guilty to federal charges, but changed his statement in December.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, had asked for 20 years, arguing he had remorse.
However, he did not ask for any direct apology or expression of remorse from Floyd’s family in court.
Instead, he told the family that he wishes Floyd’s children “all the best in their lives” and that they have “an excellent guide to becoming good adults.”
For the first time, Chauvin admitted that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck, even when he said he couldn’t breathe.
The assassination sparked protests against racism and police brutality around the world.
Magnuson has not set sentence dates for the other three officers who were at the scene – Tou Thao, J. Alexander Keung and Thomas Lane – who were convicted in February on federal civil rights charges.