How Much Prison Time Does Chauvin Face In New Federal Cases?

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal grand jury Friday indicted former Minneapolis police officers Derek Chauvin, Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao in the death of George Floyd. The federal charges are unrelated to the state of Minnesota's cases against the former officers.

The three-count federal indictment says that the four men violated title 18, section 242 of the United States Code, which makes it a crime for a person acting under color of law — such as an on-duty police officer — "to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States."

Because Floyd died, if convicted, the four men can be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, and may even be sentenced to death.

Chauvin faces indictment in a separate case

Chauvin was also indicted in a separate Sept. 4, 2017 incident. He is accused of holding a 14-year-old by the throat and hitting the teenager multiple times in the head with a flashlight without legal justification.

In 2017, Chauvin, without legal justification, hit the teen with a flashlight multiple times and held him by the throat, the first of two counts claims.

The second count says Chauvin — again without justification — held his knee on the boy's neck and the upper back of the teenager even after the teenager was lying prone, handcuffed, and unresisting.

Chauvin's actions resulted in "bodily injury," according to the indictment. If the federal prosecutors prove that Chauvin caused injury and he is convicted, the former office would face up to ten years in prison for this case.

Read more: 2nd DOJ Indictment Accuses Chauvin In 2017 Arrest of 14-Year-Old

The death of George Floyd

Chauvin was recently convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death in state court.

The racially diverse jury deliberated less than a full day before coming to a decision that concluded the two-week trial, which was closely watched as a bellwether of official responses to police killings of Black people.

"On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died faced down on the pavement," state prosecutor Steve Schleicher told jurors in his closing argument last month. "Nine minutes and 29 seconds. Throughout this time George Floyd struggled to breathe."

"What the defendant did to George Floyd killed him," Schleicher added. "It was ruled a homicide. The defendant is charged with murder."

Schleicher praised the "noble" police profession in his closing statement and noted that "this case is called the state of Minnesota versus Derek Chauvin. This is not called the state of Minnesota versus the police."

"This is not an anti-police prosecution. It's a pro-police prosecution."

Chauvin took "pride over policing," said Schleicher. "George Floyd paid for it with his life."

Meanwhile, Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, closed by saying Chauvin's actions on Memorial Day were consistent with what a "reasonable police officer" would do.

The verdict came less than two weeks after another Black man's fatal interaction with police sparked unrest in the Twin Cities metro. Former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter faces charges of second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright, 20, in the Minneapolis suburb in April.