Derek Chauvin changes plea in federal case

George Floyd’s family says they think Derek Chauvin had no choice but to plead guilty and expressed ongoing grief over Floyd’s death.

“It’s going to be a long process,” said Rodney Floyd, George Floyd’s brother. “But honestly, hearing what Derek Chauvin said in the courtroom, it’s not exactly what we wanted,” saying he thinks Chauvin pleaded guilty because he had to.

“We’re feeling confident after today,” said Brandon Williams, George Floyd’s nephew, declining to go into detail, citing pending litigation against Chauvin. “The possibility of him getting more time and having to serve more time – that’s a good thing.” 

“Today, he had a chance to blow kisses and give air hugs to his family. We can’t do that to our loved one who’s not here," Williams said.

Williams said he doesn't expect an apology from Chauvin, and "I don’t honestly care to have one.”

“I want him to feel the same pain that we felt watching the videos. I want him to feel the same pain that he inflicted on George Floyd,” Williams continued.  

George Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, said hearing the guilty plea made him feel like Chauvin "finally ... took accountability.”

“When he was pleading guilty, I know he knows why,” Terrence Floyd said. “The fact still remains that he’s actually going to be in prison and he’s going to do time for what he did, so that’s good enough for me.” 

Philonise Floyd said the family wanted accountability, but “we can never get justice because we can never get George back.” 

He said he is often reminded of the pain of George Floyd’s absence.

“The fact that I lost my brother, my loved one, you know, somebody who I can count on when I was down, it hurts me and that’s something I can never take away, because I cry about it all the time — just knowing that his daughter will never be able to walk down the aisle, she will never have a daddy-daughter dance,” Philonise Floyd said. 

After former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to charges in the federal civil rights case stemming from George Floyd’s death, Philonise Floyd told CNN that "this is big, because a blue wall fell, and it never falls.”

Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, spoke with CNN's Josh Campbell outside the federal courthouse in St. Paul, Minnesota, following Chauvin’s change of plea hearing on Wednesday.

Asked if he feels some sense of closure today, Floyd said, "I can never really feel closure" and that he thinks "about George every day."

He continued: “I can never really feel closure about anything because it’s so much happening all around the world. I think about George every day. George, you know, he was special to us, he was somebody who we loved. But I understand all these other families have people that are dying, are being murdered, every day. The possibility of closure, I don’t think none of these families can have closure. We just want accountability because we can’t get justice for somebody who is dead, you know, somebody who is murdered already."

Following former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pleading guilty in the federal civil rights case stemming from the death of George Floyd on Wednesday, attorney Ben Crump said in a statement, “While in many ways today is a victory for the interest of justice, we will never forget its cost.”

Crump continued: “George Floyd was a son, a brother, and a father – a father who, as Gianna Floyd put it, ‘changed the world.’ We all play a role in keeping his legacy alive. We must all keep marching. We must all keep fighting against injustice. We must do this for George, to ensure that his one life and shocking death will change the future for countless others.”

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin appeared in court Wednesday and entered a new plea of guilty in the federal civil rights case stemming from the death of George Floyd. 

Chauvin also admitted guilt in a separate case in which he was accused of assaulting a 14-year-old juvenile in 2017. It was unclear in court if prosecutors will dismiss the charges in the 2017 case as part of the agreement.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors are requesting that Chauvin be sentenced to 300 months in prison, or 25 years, to be served concurrently with his sentence on state murder charges. 

Chauvin, who remains in custody after being sentenced to over 20 years in prison after being convicted in April on state charges of murdering Floyd, appeared in federal court in St. Paul dressed in an orange jumpsuit. 

In court, assistant US attorney Allen Slaughter asked Chauvin to confirm details included in the plea agreement, specifically whether Chauvin held George Floyd down on the ground even after Floyd became unresponsive. 

Chauvin originally pleaded not guilty in the federal civil rights case in September.

According to a federal indictment, Chauvin deprived George Floyd of his constitutional right “to be free from an unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.” 

Former Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng also were charged in connection with their alleged failure to intervene in Chauvin's use of unreasonable force, according to the federal indictment. Chauvin, Thao, Kueng and Thomas Lane also face a charge for allegedly failing to give Floyd medical aid. Thao, Kueng and Lane pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in September.

The three other officers charged in the federal indictment are also awaiting trial on state charges of aiding and abetting in Floyd's death. That trial is set for March 2022.  

US District Court Judge Paul Magnuson has not yet set a date for Chauvin’s sentencing. 

Members of the Floyd family were present in the court room, as well as the unidentified juvenile Chauvin admitted to assaulting in 2017. 

According to the pool reporter inside court, Philonise Floyd turned to the juvenile after the hearing and said, “it’s a good day for justice.”

Derek Chauvin is scheduled to appear soon at a change of plea hearing in the federal civil rights case against him in the 2020 death of George Floyd, according to court documents.

Chauvin pleaded not guilty to the charges in September.

These charges are on top of the state case against Chauvin: The former Minneapolis police officer was found guilty in April on state murder charges in Floyd's death.

In the state trial, Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for killing Floyd's death. He was sentenced to 22 and half years in state prison. 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.

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in April on state murder charges for killing George Floyd, is scheduled to appear at a change of plea hearing Wednesday in the federal civil rights case against him, according to court documents.

Chauvin is accused of depriving Floyd's right to be free from "unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer."

Chauvin pleaded not guilty to the charges in September.

Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, sparked protests nationwide against police brutality and racial injustice.

You can read more about today's hearing here.