RELIEF OVER GUILTY VERDICT FOR COP WHO KILLED GEORGE FLOYD
FORMER Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on Tuesday of murdering George Floyd, a milestone in the fraught racial history of the US and a rebuke of law enforcement’s treatment of black Americans.
A 12-member jury found Chauvin, 45, guilty of all three charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after considering three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts. Deliberations began on Monday and lasted just over 10 hours.
In a confrontation captured on video, Chauvin, a white veteran of the police force, pushed his knee into the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in handcuffs, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Chauvin and three fellow officers were trying to arrest Floyd, accused of using a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a store.
After the verdict, Chauvin was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs and placed in the custody of the Hennepin County sheriff.
The conviction triggered a wave of relief and reflection not only across the US but around the world.
“It was a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism,” President Joe Biden said. “This can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America.”
UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet welcomed the verdict: “Any other result would have been a travesty of justice. This case has also helped reveal, perhaps more clearly than ever before, how much remains to be done to reverse the tide of systemic racism that permeates the lives of people of African descent.”
Outside the courthouse, a crowd of several hundred people erupted in cheers when the verdict was announced – a scene that unfolded in cities across the country. Car horns honked, demonstrators blocked traffic and chanted: “George Floyd” and “All three counts.”
At George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, the intersection where Floyd was killed and which was later named in his honour, people screamed, applauded and some threw dollar bills in the air in celebration.
While celebrating the verdict, protesters called for justice in the case of Daunte Wright, a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer after a routine traffic stop on April 11, just a few miles from where Chauvin stood trial. Kimberly Potter, who has turned in her badge, has been charged with manslaughter in that case.
George Floyd’s brother, Philonise, speaking at a news conference with several family members, said: “We are able to breathe again”, but he added the fight for justice was not over. “We have to protest because it seems like this is a never-ending cycle,” he said.
As the country focused on the guilty verdict in Minneapolis, police in Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot a black teenage girl they confronted as she lunged at two people with a knife, as seen in police video footage of the encounter, authorities said. The incident sparked street protests.
Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison. While the US criminal justice system and juries have long given leeway and some legal protection to police officers who use violence to subdue civilians, the Minneapolis jurors found that Chauvin had crossed the line and used excessive force.
The defence argued that Chauvin behaved as any “reasonable police officer” would have under those circumstances, and sought to raise doubts about the cause of Floyd’s death.
In his comments, Biden emphasised his support for legislation “to root out unconstitutional policing,” including the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which has been passed by the US House of Representatives and seeks to increase accountability for law enforcement misconduct.
Chauvin faces 12-and-a-half years in prison for his murder conviction as a first-time criminal offender. Prosecutors could seek a longer sentence of up to 40 years if Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill determines that there were “aggravating factors.” Cahill said Chauvin’s sentencing was likely eight weeks away.
The Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin and the three other officers after Floyd’s murder. The three are due to face trial later this year on aiding-and-abetting charges.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland has launched a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis.