Ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, already convicted of murder in state court, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, to two federal civil rights indictments.
In a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Chauvin admitted he violated the civil rights of George Floyd, who he murdered in 2020, and a 14-year-old he choked and beat with a flashlight in 2017 (read story here).
Chauvin got 22½ years on the state charges. He could’ve gotten life on the federal charges, but prosecutors will ask for 20 to 25 years, to run concurrently with his state time, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Pleading guilty to the federal charges avoids a potential life sentence, but could keep him from going free on state parole after a few years, because instead of being released then, he would be transferred to a federal prison to serve the federal sentence.
Chauvin agreed to never work as a police officer again. He never should’ve been a cop in the first place. There were repeated excessive force complaints against him throughout his career.
You’d think murdering someone at work would screw up anybody’s pension. But state laws vary, and that’s not so in Minnesota; Chauvin will get $50,000 a year, partially funded by taxpayers, when he reaches retirement age. (See story here.) That should keep him in cigs and soda at the prison canteen, and maybe he’ll even guy some for his fellow inmates.
Photo: What the bottom of Derek Chauvin’s cliff looks like
