A prosecutor told the judge at Derek Chauvin’s sentencing Friday that the former Minneapolis police officer should face a maximum sentence because he violated an officer’s most important job by failing to provide for George Floyd’s care while trying to take him into custody.
Chauvin was being sentenced on a second-degree murder charge in the May 25, 2020 death of the Black man under the officer’s knee.
“This case was about Derek Chauvin disregarding all that training he received and assaulting Mr. Floyd until he suffocated to death,” prosecutor Matthew Frank said.
He told Judge Peter Cahill that “torture is the right word” to describe how Floyd died.
“And it’s a real simple mantra, easy thing to remember,” Frank said. “You’re going to take custody of somebody, you have to provide care. You have to do it in a caring way. You can’t simply disregard their care. Mr. Chauvin abused his position of trust and authority as a police officer by doing just that, just disregarding all his training.”
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