U.S.|‘I want to give my condolences to the Floyd family,’ Derek Chauvin says at his sentencing hearing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/us/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-condolences.html
Derek Chauvin spoke directly to George Floyd’s family for the first time on Friday, telling them in brief remarks at his sentencing hearing that he wanted to “give my condolences” but that he could not say more because he still faced charges in Mr. Floyd’s death.
“Due to some additional legal matters at hand, I’m not able to give a full formal statement at this time,” said Mr. Chauvin, the former police officer who was convicted in April of murdering Mr. Floyd on a Minneapolis street corner. “But, very briefly, I want to give my condolences to the Floyd family.”
He added, somewhat cryptically: “There’s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest, and I hope things will give you some peace of mind.”
Mr. Chauvin is facing federal civil rights charges in connection with Mr. Floyd’s death, meaning anything he said during the sentencing hearing could be used against him in a future trial.
As brief as they were, Mr. Chauvin’s comments were his fullest public remarks since Mr. Floyd’s death. He did not testify at trial. Before issuing his sentence, Judge Peter A. Cahill said he had read an additional statement from Mr. Chauvin in a pre-sentencing report that was filed with the court but is not public.