USA TODAY
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin could face up to 30 years in prison after a Minnesota judge ruled there were several aggravating factors in the murder of George Floyd.
Chauvin, 45, abused his authority as a police officer when he restrained Floyd last May by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes and not rendering medical aid even when it became clear Floyd was in medical distress, Judge Peter Cahill said in a ruling made public Wednesday.
Cahill found Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty because of the prolonged nature of the asphyxiation and because Floyd made it clear he was having trouble breathing. Floyd said, I can t breathe at least 27 times in bystander video of his death.
Mario Gonzalez: Family contends excessive force by police caused death elpasotimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from elpasotimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A pardon “wouldn’t erase the memory, personal or institutional, of this thing that happened to George Floyd, Mathis said, continuing by saying it would also not erase things that would happen to him later.
But it would show that the state of Texas is interested in fundamental fairness, in admitting its mistakes, and in working to increase the accountability for police officers who break our trust and their oaths, and harm our people rather than serve them,” she said.
The pardon application was made public Monday by a reporter with The Marshall Project.
In a statement to KHOU-11, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said that she supported the pardon, commenting that her office had looked into a posthumous pardon before.