Guilty verdict in George Floyd case
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was last night convicted of murder and manslaughter over the death of George Floyd.
The explosive case has triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious re-examination of racism and policing in the US. The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for about ten hours over two days in a city on edge against another outbreak of unrest.
Mr Floyd died last May after Chauvin, a white officer, pinned his knee on or close to the 46-yearold black man's neck.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was last night convicted of murder and manslaughter over the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin, 45, could now be sent to prison for decades.
The jury of six white people and six black or multi-racial ones came back with its verdict after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days.
Chauvin was found guilty on all charges: second-degree unintentional murder, thirddegree murder and seconddegree manslaughter.
His face was obscured by a Covid-19 mask, and little reaction could be seen beyond his eyes darting around the courtroom.
His bail was immediately revoked and he was led away with his hands cuffed behind his back.
The verdict was read in a courthouse ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire and patrolled by National Guard troops, in a city on edge against another round of unrest – not just because of the Chauvin case but because of the deadly police shooting of a young black man, Daunte Wright, in a Minneapolis suburb April 11.
The jurors' identities were kept secret and will not be released until the judge decides it is safe to do so.
Three other former Minneapolis officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Mr Floyd's death will stand trial in August.
Mr Floyd, 46, died May 25 after being arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit 20 dollar bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market. He panicked, pleaded that he was claustrophobic and struggled with police when they tried to put him in a squad car. They put him on the ground instead.
The centrepiece of the case was the bystander video of Mr Floyd gasping repeatedly, "I can't breathe" and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to stop as the officer pressed his knee on or close to Mr Floyd's neck for what authorities say was nineand-a-half minutes.
Mr Floyd slowly went silent and limp.
Prosecutors played the footage at the earliest opportunity, during opening statements, with Jerry Blackwell telling the jury: "Believe your eyes."
And it was shown over and over, analysed one frame at a time by witnesses on both sides.
In the wake of Mr Floyd's death, demonstrations and scattered violence broke out in Minneapolis, around the country and beyond. The furore also led to the removal of Confederate statues and other offensive symbols such as Aunt Jemima.
In the months that followed, numerous states and cities restricted the use of force by police, revamped disciplinary systems or subjected police departments to closer oversight.
Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson called a police use-of-force expert and a forensic pathologist to help make the case that Chauvin acted reasonably against a struggling suspect and that mr floyd died because of an underlying heart condition and his illegal drug use.
Mr floyd had high blood pressure, an enlarged heart and narrowed arteries, and fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in his system.
Under the law, police have certain leeway to use force and are judged according to whether their actions were "reasonable" under the circumstances.