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u.s. news Diaranson 21 aPriL 2021

Ex-cop guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd case

(AP) — Former Minneapolis Of-
ficer Derek Chauvin was con- The verdict was read in a courthouse
victed Tuesday of murder and ringed with concrete barriers and ra-
manslaughter for pinning George zor wire and patrolled by National
Floyd to the pavement with his Guard troops, in a city on edge against
knee on the Black man’s neck in another round of unrest — not just
a case that touched off worldwide because of the Chauvin case but be-
protests, violence and a furious cause of the deadly police shooting of
reexamination of racism and po- a young Black man, Daunte Wright,
licing in the U.S. in a Minneapolis suburb April 11.

Chauvin, 45, could be sent to prison The jurors’ identities were kept se-
for decades. cret and will not be released until the
judge decides it is safe to do so.
People elated by the verdict flooded
the surrounding streets downtown Floyd, 46, died May 25 after being ar-
upon hearing the news. Cars blared rested on suspicion of passing a coun-
their horns, and people ran through terfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes
traffic, waving banners. at a corner market. He panicked,
pleaded that he was claustrophobic
Floyd family members gathered at a and struggled with police when they
Minneapolis conference room could tried to put him in a squad car. They
be heard cheering from the next put him on the ground instead.
room as each verdict was read.
The centerpiece of the case was the
The jury of six white people and six excruciating bystander video of Floyd
Black or multiracial people came gasping repeatedly, “I can’t breathe”
back with its verdict after about 10 and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to
hours of deliberations over two days. stop as the officer pressed his knee on
Chauvin was found guilty on all or close to Floyd’s neck for what au-
charges: second-degree unintention- thorities say was 9 1/2 minutes. Floyd
al murder, third-degree murder and slowly went silent and limp.
second-degree manslaughter.
Prosecutors played the footage at the
His face was obscured by a CO- earliest opportunity, during opening
VID-19 mask, and little reaction statements, with Jerry Blackwell tell-
could be seen beyond his eyes darting ing the jury: “Believe your eyes.” And
around the courtroom. it was shown over and over, analyzed
one frame at a time by witnesses on
His bail was immediately revoked both sides.
and he was led away with his hands his neck and his face jammed against thing.”
cuffed behind his back. Sentencing In the wake of Floyd’s death, dem- the ground.
will be in two months. onstrations and scattered violence The prosecution’s case also included
broke out in Minneapolis, around the Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson called tearful testimony from onlookers
As the judge asked jurors if they country and beyond. The furor also a police use-of-force expert and a fo- who said the police kept them back
reached a verdict, a hush fell on the led to the removal of Confederate rensic pathologist to help make the when they protested what was hap-
crowd 300 strong in a park adjacent statues and other offensive symbols case that Chauvin acted reasonably pening. Eighteen-year-old Darnella
to the courthouse, with people listen- such as Aunt Jemima. against a struggling suspect and that Frazier, who shot the crucial video,
ing to the proceedings on their cell- Floyd died because of an underlying said Chauvin just gave the bystanders
phones. When the final guilty verdict In the months that followed, numer- heart condition and his illegal drug a “cold” and “heartless” stare.
was announced, the crowd roared, ous states and cities restricted the use use.
many people hugging, some shed- of force by police, revamped disci- She and others said they felt a sense
ding tears. plinary systems or subjected police Floyd had high blood pressure, an of helplessness and lingering guilt
departments to closer oversight. enlarged heart and narrowed arteries, from witnessing Floyd’s slow-mo-
At the intersection where Floyd was and fentanyl and methamphetamine tion death.
pinned down, a crowd chanted, “One The “Blue Wall of Silence” that often were found in his system.
down, three to go!” — a reference to protects police accused of wrongdo- “It’s been nights I stayed up, apolo-
the three other fired Minneapolis po- ing crumbled after Floyd’s death: Under the law, police have certain gizing and apologizing to George
lice officers facing trial in August on The Minneapolis police chief quickly leeway to use force and are judged Floyd for not doing more, and not
charges of aiding and abetting mur- called it “murder” and fired all four according to whether their actions physically interacting and not saving
der in Floyd’s death. officers, and the city reached a stag- were “reasonable” under the circum- his life,” Frazier testified, while the
gering $27 million settlement with stances. 19-year-old cashier at the neighbor-
Janay Henry, who lives nearby, said Floyd’s family as jury selection was hood market, Christopher Martin,
she felt grateful and relieved. underway. The defense also tried to make the lamented that “this could have been
case that Chauvin and the other of- avoided” if only he had rejected the
“I feel grounded. I can feel my feet Police-procedure experts and law en- ficers were hindered in their duties suspect $20 bill.
on the concrete,” she said, adding forcement veterans inside and outside by what they perceived as a growing,
that she was looking forward to the the Minneapolis department, includ- hostile crowd. To make Floyd more than a crime
“next case with joy and optimism and ing the chief, testified for the pros- statistic in the eyes of the jury, the
strength.” ecution that Chauvin used excessive Chauvin did not testify, and all that prosecution called to the stand his
force and went against his training. the jury or the public ever heard by girlfriend, who told the story of how
An ecstatic Whitney Lewis leaned way of an explanation from him came they met and how they struggled with
halfway out a car window in a grow- Medical experts for the prosecu- from a police body-camera video after addiction to opioids, and his younger
ing traffic jam of revelers waving a tion said Floyd died of asphyxia, or an ambulance had taken the 6-foot-4, brother Philonise. He recalled how
Black Lives Matter flag. “Justice was lack of oxygen, because his breath- 223-pound Floyd away. Chauvin told Floyd helped teach him to catch a
served,” the 32-year-old from Min- ing was constricted by the way he a bystander: “We gotta control this football and made “the best banana
neapolis said. “It means George Floyd was held down on his stomach, his guy ‘cause he’s a sizable guy ... and mayonnaise sandwiches.”
can now rest.” hands cuffed behind him, a knee on it looks like he’s probably on some-