ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin appeared in a federal courthouse Wednesday morning for a change of plea hearing on charges that he violated the civil rights of George Floyd before the 46-year-old’s death in May 2020.
Chauvin, 45, pleaded not guilty in September to two federal counts of deprivation of rights under color of law in Floyd’s death. On Wednesday, he changed his plea to guilty on one count as well as a separate deprivation of rights under color of law charge connected to a 2017 encounter with a 14-year-old boy, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Update 11:25 a.m. EST Dec. 15: Attorneys representing Floyd’s family heralded news Wednesday that Chauvin had changed his plea to guilty for a charge of using excessive force against the 46-year-old.
“Before the tragic and needless death of George Floyd, there was little expectation that a white police officer would ever be held accountable for murdering a Black man. But when Derek Chauvin was held to account, the jury – and people across the country – finally said enough was enough,” attorneys Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms said in a joint statement.“
“Thanks to marches and cries for justice echoing through our streets, and the courage and wisdom of a jury, significant change is afoot. Not only did we see it with the conviction in a Minnesota state court, but we also now see it at the federal level in the form of landmark civil rights charges. And we expect to see it in the sentencing, as well.”
The attorneys called for accountability for former Minneapolis officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Kiernan Lane, who also face state and federal charges connected to Floyd’s death. The three are expected to face juries in federal court early next year and to answer to state charges in March.
NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump, co-counsel @TonyRomanucci and Jeff Storms have released a statement after Derek Chauvin changed his plea to guilty in the federal civil rights case against him. pic.twitter.com/ZokaumdMhG
— Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) December 15, 2021
Update 10:43 a.m. EST Dec. 15: In addition to a charge of using excessive force against Floyd in May 2020, Chauvin also pleaded guilty to a charge of using excessive force against a 14-yeard-old boy during an encounter in 2017, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
A judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation after accepting Chauvin’s pleas, according to MPR News. Federal prosecutors recommended that he serve up to 300 months, or 25 years, in prison for the charges, The Associated Press reported.
He had been facing two counts each of deprivation of rights under color of the law in both Floyd’s death and the 2017 incident.
Update 10:30 a.m. EST Dec. 15: Chauvin entered a guilty plea for one count of using excessive force against Floyd during Wednesday’s hearing, KARE and Minnesota Public Radio reported.
“Correct,” Chauvin says, when Assistant U.S. Attorney asks on May 25, 2020, you deprived George Perry Floyd of his civil rights under color of law.
— Matt Sepic (@msepic) December 15, 2021
The former Minneapolis police officer appeared in court wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and a mask, The Washington Post reported.
Original report: In an indictment, Chauvin was accused of “acting with deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm to Floyd” before his death.
A grand jury also indicted three other officers who were present during the incident on federal charges. Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Kiernan Lane face at least one count each of deprivation of rights under color of law. They are expected to face juries early next year.
>> Related: Ex-officers accused of violating George Floyd’s rights plead not guilty
A Minnesota jury found Chauvin guilty in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He was subsequently sentenced to serve 22 1/2 years in prison.
Video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes while detaining him on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill went viral in May 2020, sparking outrage and protests nationwide against police violence. In the video, taken by a teenage bystander outside the Cup Foods convenience store in Minneapolis, Floyd could be heard struggling to breathe and calling for his mother. Kueng and Lane helped to restrain Floyd, while Thao held back bystanders and kept them from intervening, according to evidence presented in state court.
Chauvin, Thao, Kueng and Lane are accused of willfully ignoring Floyd’s medical needs during an arrest. Chauvin is also accused of depriving Floyd of his right to be free from an unreasonable seizure for holding his knees on Floyd’s neck, back and arm as Floyd lay on the ground, unresisting.
Chauvin is also accused of violating the civil rights of a 14-year-old boy during an encounter in 2017, according to The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear whether he planned to change his plea on those charges Wednesday morning.
Thao, Lane and Kueng have also been charged in state court with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. They are expected to face juries in March.
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