Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 4-23-21

Feature
Citizens Share Opinion About Verdict In George Floyd Murder Trial
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Tuesday afternoon a panel of jurors rendered their decision in a trial that left a Black man dead and a white officer on trial for his murder.
The incident that re- sulted in the death of George Floyd began after police were called about a counterfeit $20 bill. When the officers arrived at the grocery store in Powder- house, Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin, a white police of- ficer, was among them.
Chauvin and two other officers handcuffed Floyd facedown in the street. Chauvin then placed his knee on Floyd’s neck and kept it there for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. The entire incident was captured on video and played a key role in the trial.
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. No sentenc- ing date has been set for him.
Some citizens shared their opinions about the ver- dict in the case as well as the future.
Ralph Smith said, “I was definitely happy with the verdict. The jury reached the right decision. But there are still issues in our coun- try and society that we must address. Racism and white supremacy still exist in our society and until we deal with these types of issues, nothing will have really changed.”
Ms. Tamara Sham- buger said, “The Justice System worked this time, but we can’t let our guards down. While we all take a deep breath in remem- brance of George Floyd, it’s important that we exhale with purpose, conviction, and commitment to contin- uing the fight for equality in this country. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Rev. Clarence Nathan, a retired Tampa
Police lieutenant said, “I think that justice was not served because we can’t re- store George Floyd’s life. But it is the beginning of ac- countability. Ninety-nine percent of the officers at the Tampa Police Department are good, hard-working peo- ple. But we must always watch that 1% and hold them accountable.
“TheIr job is not only to fight crime, but to protect the people as well.”
Ms. Vivian Heyward
said, “I have to support the younger generation for step- ping up and stepping out in numbers. This type of thing is nothing new. We had the same problem in 1967 when Martin Chambers was killed here in Tampa that led to rioting in Tampa.
“I also applaud the jury for their bravery for making the right decision. The out- come was appropriate for the crime. Now, we must sit back and wait for the sen- tencing.”
Henry Washington
said, “Nothing has bothered me as much as this case than anything I’ve seen in a long time. I think the verdict was just and turned out the way it should be for all mi- norities. We have to con- tinue to fight for Blacks and other minorities. Our prayers go out to the fam-
ily.”James Ransom, Board Member, Tampa Organiza- tion of Black Affairs said,
“America reached a long over-due milestone toward justice and equality for Blacks with the unanimous decision by the jury in the George Floyd case.
“The witnesses who saw everything that happened to George Floyd never left his side while they saw him beg the rogue police Offi- cer Chauvin to take his knee off of George Floyd's neck so he could breathe and as we all know Chau- vin did not and George Floyd was murdered.
“Their testimony was key to the justice that was finally served for George Floyd and his family. It was the Police Chief and other offi- cers who otherwise and his- torically would have never testified against the behav- ior of a fellow officer in the line of duty, but who did the unprecedented. It was the extraordinary testimony of the numerous experts who profoundly, scientifically and irrefutably explained the cause of George Floyd's death.
“Finally, it was the video (in real time) that recorded the entire episode of this tragic and liberate chain of events that made it impossi- ble for America to ignore. It took all of these factors to achieve justice which should be enough to set the stan- dard for what we all must commit to do; truly bring justice and accountability to police officers who abuse or misuse their authority that cause harm or death to Black people.”
Attorney Ben Crump
prevailed in the civil case winning $27 million, the highest settlement in the history of these type cases.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021