Ex-US cop sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd's civil rights

Washington, July 8

Derek Chauvin, a former police officer of Minneapolis, in the US' Minnesota, was sentenced in a federal court to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd's civil rights.

Chauvin previously pleaded guilty to civil rights violation during Floyd's arrest on May 25, 2020.

That day, Chauvin pressed his knee on the African American man's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

The sentence will run concurrently with Chauvin's state sentence of 22.5 years after he was convicted for second and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, Xinhua news agency reported.

He will move from state prison to federal prison.

Floyd's death sparked massive demonstrations across the United States in the summer of 2020 against police brutality and systemic racism.

Three other former officers at the scene of Floyd's arrest were convicted earlier this year on federal charges of depriving Floyd of his civil rights. Their sentencing dates have not been scheduled.

The federal sentence for Chauvin came as protesters were decrying police violence and racism in the fatal shooting of African American man Jayland Walker in Akron, Ohio.

The Akron Police Department on Sunday released body-camera footage of the deadly encounter, which took place after midnight on June 27 during an attempted traffic stop.

Officers attempted to pull over Walker on unspecified traffic violations and they chased his vehicle on the expressway for several minutes, according to the police.

Walker then allegedly jumped out of his car while the footage showed officers pursuing him on foot before opening fire.

The police department said officers "reported a firearm being discharged from the suspect vehicle" during the encounter.

Walker, 25, suffered more than 60 gunshot wounds and was unarmed at the time, Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett told reporters on Sunday.

Eight officers who were directly involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave as part of the protocol in a police shooting.

Akron had contacted the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation and requested an independent investigation into the incident. The process is underway.