Former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, 45, was found guilty of murder and manslaughter by a jury on Tuesday, nearly a year after he used his knee to pin the neck of an African American man, George Floyd, to the ground, killing him. Chauvin faces a potential 40-year jail sentence.
George Floyd’s death had sparked the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, violence and furious re-examination of racism and policing in the United States.
The jury of six white people and six Black or multiracial ones came back with its verdict after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days. The jurors identities were kept secret and will not be released until the judge decides it is safe to do so. Chauvin was found guilty on all charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
George Floyd’s brother, Philonise had described sitting in the courtroom listening to the verdict as, “a moment I would never be able to re-live, I will always have inside of me.” An emotional Philonise Floyd talked about his faith and listed the names of other victims of police violence. Three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder in the second degree.
On May 25 last year, George Floyd had said, “I can’t breathe,” repeatedly during the approximately nine minute encounter with Chauvin, where Floyd was pinned to the ground by the cop’s knee. The encounter was filmed by bystanders, particularly a teenage girl, whose footage went viral on social media.
The onlookers were yelling at Chauvin to stop as the officer pressed his knee on or close to George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and he slowly went silent and limp.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first African American woman in her position, also addressed the nation on Tuesday night after the verdict was announced.
“America has a long history of systemic racism and black men in particular have been treated as ‘less than human’ throughout the course of history,” said Harris.
“It was a murder in the full light of day,” said Biden said, calling systemic racism “a stain on the nation’s soul.”
Chauvin will be sentenced in approximately eight weeks.
