Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 10 minutes, was sentenced Friday to more than 22 years in prison. 

After hearing from family members and lawyers on both sides, Judge Peter Cahill issued a 22-page memorandum explaining how he arrived at his sentence.

“Part of the mission of the Minneapolis Police Department is to give citizens ‘voice and respect,’” Cahill wrote. “Here, Mr. Chauvin, rather than pursuing the MPD mission, treated Mr. Floyd without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings and which he certainly would have extended to a friend or neighbor. In the Court’s view, 270 months … is the appropriate sentence.”

Cahill said in court that he did not base his sentence on public opinion and was not trying to send any messages.

Chauvin was given credit for 199 days already served. With good behavior, he could be paroled after serving two-thirds of his sentence in prison, meaning he could be released in less than 15 years.

Chauvin, 45, was convicted in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 2020 death of Floyd. 

Floyd, 46, was killed when police tried to arrest him on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a convenience store. He died as Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as the Black man was pinned to the pavement and handcuffed after struggling with officers in the back seat of a squad car.

Floyd repeatedly cried that he couldn’t breathe as concerned onlookers shouted for Chauvin to stop and took cellphone video that would help spark a wave of widespread protests and unrest last summer. 

Chauvin faced a maximum of 40 years in prison. Under Minnesota statutes, he was sentenced only on the most serious charge of second-degree murder because all of the charges against him stemmed from a single act with a single victim.

The judge heard four victim impact statements — from Floyd’s 7-year-old daughter, Gianna, via a prerecorded video, as well as his cousin and two brothers, who were in the courtroom. 

Gianna said she asks about her father “all the time.”

 “I was asking how did my dad get hurt,” she said.

When asked what she’d want to do if she saw her dad again, Gianna said: “I want to play with him, have fun, go on a plane ride, and that’s it.”

She also mentioned that "those mean people did something to him."

Floyd’s brothers, Philonise and Terrence, and his cousin, Brandon Williams, all asked the judge to give Chauvin the maximum sentence.

“I haven't had a real night's sleep because of the nightmares I constantly have hearing my brother beg and plead for his life over and over again,” Philonise Floyd said. 

“My family and I have been given a life sentence,” he added. “We will never be able to get George back.”

Terrence Floyd said he “wanted to know from the man himself,” Chauvin, “why?”

“What were you thinking?" Terrence Floyd said. "What was going through your head when you had your knee or my brother's neck?”

Chauvin, who is expected to appeal his conviction, declined to give a full statement, citing “additional legal matters at hand.” He, however, offered his condolences to the Floyd family and said more information will be presented in the future “that would be of interest” and that he hoped would give Floyd’s relatives “some peace of mind.” It was unclear what he was referring to.

Chauvin also faces trial on federal civil rights charges, along with three other fired officers who have yet to have their state trials.

Minnesota’s guidelines call for someone convicted of second-degree unintentional murder who has no previous criminal record, like Chauvin, to be sentenced from 10 years and eight months up to 15 years. 

But Matthew Frank, Minnesota assistant attorney general, argued that Chauvin deserved more than that — he asked for 30 years — because of four aggravating factors: He abused a position of trust and authority, he treated Floyd with particular cruelty, children witnessed the crime and Chauvin committed the murder as a part of a group consisting of at least three other people. Cahill agreed last month with the aggravating factors.

“This is not the typical second-degree murder. This is egregious,” Frank said, describing Chauvin’s actions as “torture.”

Defense attorney Eric Nelson had asked for time served and probation, but when given the chance to speak Friday, he seemed more intent on asking Cahill to follow the usual sentencing guidelines. Nelson argued that Chauvin’s history as a decorated police officer for nearly 20 years, an Army veteran and someone with no prior criminal record should have been mitigating factors in his punishment. He added that Chauvin was supposed to be off of work the day Floyd died but volunteered because the department was short-staffed.

Chauvin’s mother, Carolyn Pawlenty, addressed the judge, saying that her son has replayed the events of May 25, 2020, in his mind over and over again and that it has taken a toll on him.

“It has been difficult for me to hear and read what the media, public and prosecution team believe Derek to be — an aggressive, heartless and uncaring person,” she said. “I can tell you that is far from the truth. … I want this court to know that none of these things are true and that my son is a good man.”

Earlier Friday, Cahill rejected Chauvin’s request for a new trial, saying Nelson had not shown that the court abused its discretion and denied Chauvin the right to a fair trial.

Nelson argued that intense publicity around Floyd’s death tainted the jury pool and that the trial should have been moved away from Minneapolis. He also offered a range of other arguments, all dismissed by prosecutors, who said Chauvin was fairly convicted.

Cahill also rejected Nelson’s request for a hearing into possible juror misconduct. The defense accused juror Brandon Mitchell of not being candid during jury selection because he didn’t mention his participation in a march last summer to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Prosecutors countered that Mitchell had been open about his views in a jury questionnaire and during the questioning of potential jurors.

The judge ruled the defense didn't show any evidence of juror misconduct either during trial or during jury selection that warranted an evidentiary hearing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article was updated with additional information.