Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFormer Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that touched off worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.
Chauvin, 45, could be sent to prison for decades.
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. Chauvin was found guilty on all charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree 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 Floyd’s death will stand trial in August.
Floyd, 46, died May 25 after being arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 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 centerpiece of the case was the excruciating bystander video of Floyd gasping repeatedly, “I can’t breathe” and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to stop as the officer pressed his knee on or close to Floyd’s neck for what authorities say was 9 1/2 minutes. 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, analyzed one frame at a time by witnesses on both sides.
Earlier in the day Tuesday, President Joe Biden weighed in by saying he believes the case is “overwhelming.”
He said that he had spoken to Floyd’s family on Monday and “can only imagine the pressure and anxiety they’re feeling.”
“They’re a good family and they’re calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is,” Biden said. “I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict. I think it’s overwhelming, in my view. I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered now.”
The president has repeatedly denounced Floyd’s death but previously stopped short of commenting on the trial itself.
Other politicians and ordinary citizens also offered their opinion as the jury was deliberating.
“It shouldn’t be really even questioned whether there will be an acquittal or a verdict that doesn’t meet the scale of the crime that was committed,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, said in Brooklyn Center. The congresswoman said the Chauvin case looks open-and-shut.
Guilty verdicts could mark a turning point in the fight for racial equality, she said.
“We are holding on to one another for support. Hopefully this verdict will come soon and the community will start the process of healing,” Omar said.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
👏👏👏
Just wait until you need a officer and no one there to do the job.
You know what you call good cops that protect bad cops? Bad cops.
JL: yeah, because they’ll be in prison
.
I’m wondering what Biden thought the right verdict was even though he wasn’t commenting on the trial.
You know what you call a Habitual drug dealer and user???
As well as a know Criminal ?
Someone coming to your neighborhood soon.
Because the police wont be around.
So you think unarmed drug users deserve to be murdered by police? I’m guessing you wouldn’t be okay with a cop murdering an unarmed white kid in Carmel for doing heroin in his car.
Very sad so many lives ruined all because GF chose to steal using a fake $20……
Very sad so many lives are ruined because a stupid cop didn’t realize a person can’t survive a knee on their neck for over 9 minutes.
What came first? stealing from a small business owner and resisting arrest or the knee on the neck?
Who actually cares? Last time I checked the death penalty isn’t used for petty theft.
Didn’t say it was….. Simply stated it’s sad so many lives were ruined as a result of GF’s actions……… his own, the officer who tried to hold him accountable, and the thousands who were impacted by the opportunist rioters.
Sad day for America that our courts of law can be extorted by Socialist Marxist Terrorist such as BLM and ANTIFA.
Sad sad day for MAGA people that their racism wasn’t enough to prevent a murderer from going to jail. All this on top of losing control of the government. It’s been a really tough 2021 for the MAGA movement. Black Lives Matter!
There will be a quiet wave of mass resignations which the media will not cover due to that verdict. For each action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Any cop that wants to resign because of this should certainly do so immediately! Then they should apologize to the communities they served for all the years they failed to properly do their jobs.
Great to see the justice system actually work. Time to keep the fight for equality going strong!
As usual, plenty of racism on display by certain IBJ commentators. Ask your God to soften your heart.
Please point out racist posts.
Lance – There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See
Exactly, there are none. Just because you say it’s so doesn’t actually make it so and no pithy sayings help your “argument”.
Perhaps it’s easier for justice to prevail when there is incontrovertible evidence presented. Body cameras and and a vigilant citizenry with cameras can insure our legal process works
even better. Thanks to the 12 jurists who were willing to serve and to make a decision that impacted all of America. I pray they will stay safe for being good public servants.
12 Jurists?
.
Jurist: “a person versed in the law, as a judge, lawyer, or scholar.”
Jurors, not jurists, ma’am
Chauvin may have used poor judgement in his use of force. His conviction was nearly a foregone conclusion or Rome would have burned. Mob rule will prove to be much more dangerous
May have?
Imagine thinking that cops should be able to do whatever they want because they’re cops.
Everyone needs to get outside this country and visit some 3 world country’s like I have. You wont be so quick to condemn our police and the system we live under. Your being unbalanced manny other country’s want to see us fall and your helping them with the post I’m reading. We have a great system better than any other in the world. I’ve see it experienced it personally.
I’ve been to Guatemala a few times, so I know true corruption. Trying to compare the US to 3rd world countries is a ridiculously low bar to set for the richest country in the World. You apparently need to get to other developed nations like Canada to see what a better system looks like.