Former US police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in jail for murder of George Floyd.

The 45-year-old was in April convicted of murdering Mr Floyd in Minneapolis last year.

The second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter convictions carried a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

George Floyd died after Chauvin pressed his knee into his neck for almost nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis in May 2020.

I can't breathe

Video of the killing, filmed by bystanders, sparked Black Lives Matter protests across the US and around the world.

Mr Floyd repeatedly called out "I can't breathe" before he died.

Judge Peter Cahill said his ruling was not based on "emotion or sympathy" and noted that he was not attempting "to send any messages."

"At the same time, I want to acknowledge the deep and tremendous pain that all the families are feeling, especially the Floyd family," he said. "You have our sympathies."

"A beginning"

After the sentencing, Mr Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross told Sky News: "I'm shocked that it wasn't a longer sentence, but it's a beginning.”

“I want us to continue this fight and not give up,” she said. “It's a little disappointing.”

She said she has been “paralysed in grief” over the past year but urged protesters to agigate for change without violence.

“I know people are angry - I hear it and I understand - but Floyd is not about violence...he'd want everyone to just keep fighting the right way,” she said.

The three other officers who encountered Mr Floyd that day are facing trial in August.

They and Chauvin also face federal charges of depriving Mr Floyd of his civil rights and a conviction carries a possible death sentence.