Derek Chauvin murder conviction upheld by Minnesota appeals court

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s 2021 second-degree murder conviction was upheld Monday by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after killing civilian George Floyd on a Minneapolis street in May 2020. The 47-year-old officer was taped pinning Floyd to the street with his knee for nearly 10 minutes while the victim gasped, “I can’t breathe.”

Chauvin’s 22½-year prison sentence will stand, despite his attorney’s claims the high-profile case was unfair due to reasons including pretrial hype. The defense contended Chauvin’s case should have been moved out of Minneapolis, where tension ran high. Floyd’s death inspired nationwide protests — some of which turned violent.

William Mohrman, who represents the former cop, argued in January that his client couldn’t find fairness “In a courthouse surrounded by concrete block, barbed wire, two armored personnel carriers and a squad of National Guard troops” for protection in the event of an acquittal. He also believed the jury should’ve been sequestered.

Prosecutors successfully contended Chauvin’s televised trial was fair and transparent.

Writing on behalf of the three-judge panel that upheld the conviction, Judge Peter Reyes acknowledged police officers “undoubtedly have a challenging, difficult and sometimes dangerous job,” but said that didn’t give Chauvin license to use excessive force against Floyd.

The Minneapolis City Council voted last week to pay nearly $9 million to two people Chauvin abused in unrelated 2017 encounters. The city’s mayor apologized to those victims, adding that Floyd wouldn’t have been killed had the city reprimanded Chauvin for those instances.

Three other former Minneapolis police officers were convicted, in February 2022, for violating Floyd’s civil rights while assisting Chauvin during his detainment of Floyd. They also received prison time. Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s constitutional rights. That 21-year sentence runs concurrent to his criminal penalty.

The three judges ruling on Floyd’s appeal unanimously decided against reversing the criminal court’s verdict in their 50-page decision, according to the Star Tribune. They declined to entertain a technical challenge to his third-degree murder conviction.

Chauvin is being detained in a medium-security federal prison in Tucson.

With News Wire Services