The New York Times has reported that Attorney General William Barr has rejected the plea deal from former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd by putting his knee on his neck for eight minutes. Chauvin agreed to plead guilty to the third degree murder charge, but is facing second degree murder charges during his March trial.

A former DOJ official confirmed the rejection, stating, “His lawyers were trying to rush us, and we didn’t want to be rushed.” 

A spokesperson for the Hennepin County attorney’s office said, “As is typical in many cases, early negotiations can occur between all relevant parties involved. Many times, a defendant will explore their options with a negotiation. It is also common for these types of discussions to happen in the beginning of a case and then have no agreed upon negotiations develop. This case was no different. Negotiations were discussed, nothing developed.” 

It was reported that Chauvin was willing to do a decade behind bars, but Barr feared that would be perceived as too lenient of a sentence.

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