Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, plans to change his not guilty plea to federal charges that he violated Floyd's civil rights, according to a court notice.
A filing in U.S. District Court in Minnesota indicated that Chauvin will appear at 9 a.m. Wednesday to enter a new plea. The notice did not say how he intends to change his plea. Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.
Chauvin and three other former officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — were indicted in May and accused of depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority on May 25, 2020, as Floyd, 46, was held facedown, handcuffed and not resisting in a restraint that was recorded on bystander video. They pleaded not guilty in September.
Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9½ minutes, was convicted in April on state charges of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22½ years in prison in June.
Floyd's death led to worldwide racial justice protests and calls for changes in policing.
In a separate federal indictment, Chauvin also is charged with depriving a 14-year-old boy of his civil rights during an encounter in September 2017 in which he is accused of holding the boy by the throat and striking his head multiple times with a flashlight.
