On the morning of June 25, 2021, Derek Chauvin stood before Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill and heard the number that would define the rest of his life: 22.5 years. In a proceeding broadcast live to millions of viewers around the world, the former Minneapolis police officer was sentenced to 270 months in state prison for the murder of George Floyd—one of the longest sentences ever imposed on a police officer in the United States for an on-duty killing.
The road to that courtroom had begun exactly thirteen months earlier. On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police were called to investigate a complaint, and Chauvin—a 19-year veteran of the department—arrived as one of four responding officers. What followed was captured by a bystander video that would circle the globe within hours: George Floyd, already handcuffed and lying face-down on the pavement, with Chauvin's knee pressed against his neck for approximately nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Floyd called out "I can't breathe" repeatedly. He called for his mother. Bystanders pleaded for Chauvin to stop. Floyd eventually went limp and was later pronounced dead.
The footage ignited protests in all fifty states and in countries around the world—one of the largest civil rights uprisings in modern American history. Within weeks, Chauvin was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.