Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder Tuesday in the arrest of George Floyd, a milestone in full U.S. racial history and a reprimand for law enforcement treatment of Black Americans.
The 12-member jury found Chauvin, 45, guilty of all charges including second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after considering three weeks of evidence from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officers and medical experts. Intentions began on Monday and lasted just over 10 hours.
In a video-captured confrontation, Chauvin, who is white, pushed his knee to the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, as he and three fellow officers arrested Floyd, accused of using a fake $ 20 bill to buy cigarettes at a grocery store.
Chauvin, wearing a gray suit with a blue tie and white shirt and a light blue pandemic face mask, nodded quickly when the judge ruled that his bail had been revoked after the verdict was read.
He was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs and placed in the custody of the Sheriff of Hennepin County.
Outside the court, a crowd of hundreds of people erupted in cheers when the verdict was announced. Honored cars and chants of “George Floyd” and “The three counts” broke out.
Chris Dixon, a 41-year-old Black Minneapolis resident, had tears rolling down his face.
“I was hoping we would get justice and it looks like we did,” he said. “I’m very proud of where I live now.”
At George Floyd’s square in Minneapolis, the intersection where Floyd was killed and is now named after him, people screamed, applauded and threw dollar bills in the air in celebration. The site has since become a rallying point for racial justice protests.
“Justice for Black America is justice for the whole of America,” Floyd’s family attorney, Benjamin Crump, said in a statement. “This case is a turning point in American history for law enforcement liability and sends a clear message that we hope to hear clearly in every city and every state.”
Chauvin had pleaded not guilty to the charges of unintentional second-degree murder relating to “deliberate loss of bodily harm” unintentional third-degree “wretched mind” murder involving “an extremely dangerous act to others,” and second-degree manslaughter involving death caused by “negligence of culpability”.
Although the U.S. criminal justice system and juries have given police officers using violence to subdue civilians freedom and some legal protection, jurors in this case found that Chauvin had crossed the line and used force excessive.
Under Minnesota sentencing guidelines, Chauvin faces 12-1 / 2 years in prison for his conviction of murder as a first-time offender. However, prosecutors could seek a longer sentence of up to a maximum of 40 years if Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over the trial, decides there were “aggravating factors”.
NO PREVIOUS CRIMINAL FACILITIES
In Minnesota, convicted criminals generally leave prison after supervised release after completing two-thirds of their sentence. Chauvin had no prior criminal convictions.
The jury included four white women, two white men, three Black men, one Black woman and two multi-religious women, according to court records.
Earlier Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said he had spoken by phone with members of the Floyd family.
“They are a good family, and they call for peace and tranquility, regardless of that ruling. I pray that the verdict is the correct verdict, which is – I think it is overwhelming in my opinion. I wouldn’t say unless the jury was confiscated now, (he wouldn’t) hear me say that, “Biden told reporters at the White House.
The intersection of race and law enforcement has long been contentious in the United States, underlined by a series of deadly incidents involving white and Black police officers in several American cities in recent years.
Floyd’s death sparked protests against racism and police cruelty in many cities in the United States and around the world last year.
The Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin and three other officers the day after Floyd was arrested. The other three are expected to face trial later this year on charges of aiding and abetting Floyd’s death.
MEDICAL EXPERIENCE
A cardiologist, pulmonologist, toxicologist and forensic pathologist were medical experts called by prosecutors to testify that videos and autopsy results confirmed that Chauvin killed Floyd by compressing his body into the street and starving him of oxygen.
The defense argued that Chauvin would act as any “reasonable policeman” in these circumstances, and sought to question the cause of Floyd’s death, saying that heart disease or even the evacuation fumes from a nearby police car could be factors.
Darnella Frazier, a teenager who told the jury she was taking her nine-year-old cousin to the Cup Foods grocery store that night for snacks, was among the witnesses called by prosecutors after jurors began hearing evidence on March 29.
Frazier had used his cellphone to make a video depicting Floyd’s amusing misery, images that catalyzed the subsequent protests. Floyd can be heard on the video shouting about his mother and telling officers he couldn’t breathe.
Eventually, Chauvin raised his knee to allow paramedics to place Floyd’s limp body on a stretcher.
Other eyewitnesses described the horror and the traumatic trauma of watching Floyd die before them. Courteney Ross, Floyd’s girlfriend for nearly three years, recalled their first kiss and their joint battle with opioid addiction.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo appeared as the prosecution witness to testify that Chauvin’s actions during the arrest represented an egregious breach of his training.
Throughout the case, Chauvin wore a suit and took notes on yellow legal pads while sitting alongside defense attorney Eric Nelson. Members of Floyd’s family took turns attending the case, though some tried to avoid staring at them when a video of Floyd’s death, recorded from several angles, was replayed to jurors.
The judge ordered the jurors be confiscated after they began negotiations. (Reuters)