Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who killed George Floyd on a Minneapolis street last year, was sentenced Friday to 22 and half years in prison.
Chauvin, in a light gray suit and tie and white shirt, spoke briefly before the sentence was imposed, offering his "condolences to the Floyd family."
Under Minnesota law, Chauvin will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence, or 15 years -- and he will be eligible for supervised release for the remaining seven and a half years.
Chauvin, 45, was convicted in April on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his role in Floyd's death.
At the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street in Minneapolis, where Floyd took his last breaths, people watched the hearing on mobile phones.
Floyd's sister, Bridgett, who founded the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, said in a statement that the sentence "shows that matters of police brutality are finally being taken seriously.""However, we have a long way to go and many changes to make before Black and brown people finally feel like they are being treated fairly and humanely by law enforcement in this country," she added.
Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, in a statement, said the "historic sentence" brings the family and nation "one step closer to healing by delivering closure and accountability."
"With Chauvin's sentence, we take a significant step forward -- something that was unimaginable a very short time ago," he said.
