Derek Chauvin closing in on plea deal on federal civil rights charges: report

Derek Chauvin -- the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in April of murder and manslaughter for the death of George Floyd -- is reportedly nearing a plea deal on federal civil rights charges that would allow him to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. 

The report comes days after Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill on Friday sentenced Chauvin to 22 1/2 years in prison on the state charges. 

Multiple sources told WCCO that federal prosecutors were in talks with Chauvin about the plea deal and that both parties were close to an agreement. It could arrange for Chauvin to get 20 to 25 years -- and for him to serve that federal sentence at the same time as his state sentence. 

The deal might have been what Chauvin was referring to when he publicly addressed the court last week during his sentencing hearing. On Friday, Chauvin, who did not testify in his trial, removed his mask and turned toward the Floyd family, speaking only briefly because of "some additional legal matters at hand."

"Due to legal matters, I’m not able to give a full formal statement," Chauvin said, breaking his yearlong silence. "I give my condolences to the Floyd family, there’s going to be some other information in the future that will be of interest and I hope these will give you some peace of mind."

CHAUVIN SENTENCE LEAVES SOME DISAPPOINTED: ‘WE GOT JUSTICE BUT NOT ENOUGH JUSTICE’ 

The plea deal would likely require Chauvin to publicly explain what he did to Floyd and why, WCCO reported. At the sentencing hearing, Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, asked Chauvin the same question. 

"We don’t want to see no more slaps on the wrist. We’ve been through that already," Terrence Floyd said. "What was going through your head when you had your knee on my brother’s neck?"

The plea deal could also arrange for Chauvin to serve his sentence in federal prison – rather than at a state-run facility, WCCO reported. If Chauvin goes to trial on civil rights charges and is convicted in federal court, he could be sentenced to life in prison. 

Cahill on Friday went beyond the 12 1/2-year sentence prescribed under state guidelines, citing Chauvin's "abuse of a position of trust and authority and also the particular cruelty" shown to Floyd. 

But still, Floyd family members and activists were disappointed, as the sentence fell short of the 30 years prosecutors had requested. And with good behavior, Chauvin, 45, could get out on parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence, or about 15 years, according to the Associated Press. 

Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said the family had gotten "some measure of accountability" but is hoping Chauvin gets the maximum at his upcoming federal civil rights trial. Crump said this was the longest sentence a police officer has ever received in Minnesota.

But he added: "Real justice in America will be Black men and Black women and people of color who will not have to fear being killed by the police just because the color of their skin. That would be real justice."

The New York Times first reported in February that former Attorney General William Barr under the Trump administration had rejected a plea deal that Chauvin agreed to days after Floyd’s death in May 2020. Chauvin had reportedly agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder, but Barr rejected the deal knowing that a likely 10-year sentence on that charge would have been perceived as too lenient. 

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Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for up to 9 1/2 minutes as the 46-year-old man gasped that he couldn’t breathe and went limp on May 25, 2020.

Bystander video of Floyd’s arrest on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a corner store prompted protests around the world and led to scattered violence in Minneapolis and beyond, as well as demands for overhauling police departments. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.