Derek Chauvin, former US cop who murdered George Floyd, gets 22 1/2 years' jail

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill presides over the sentencing hearing for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (left), found guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. June 25, 2021 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

MINNEAPOLIS, United States (AP): Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin's knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the United States in generations.

The punishment – which came after Chauvin broke his yearlong silence to offer condolences to the Floyd family and express hope that they eventually have "some peace of mind" – is one of the longest prison terms ever imposed on a U.S. police officer in the killing of a Black person.