Former Minneapolis Police Officer Convicted Of Murdering George Floyd

The jury in the George Floyd case convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of murdering 46-year-old George Floyd. Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges.

After 10 hours of deliberations, experts say the panel’s verdict also indicted police brutality and racism, signaling a change in America’s centuries-old legacy of indifference to mistreatment involving African Americans at the hands of the criminal justice system.

A cell phone video recorded by an eyewitness that showed Chauvin with his knee pinned on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds became the star witness. The prosecution called witnesses who tearfully described their sense of helplessness as they watched a handcuffed Floyd die on the street in front of a corner store in Minneapolis. The medical examiner acknowledged that drugs in Floyd’s system and heart problems were contributing factors, but he tied Floyd’s demise directly to the law enforcement activities of Chauvin.

Dr. Andrew Baker said, “The law enforcement subdual restraint and neck compression was just more than Mr. Floyd could take by virtue of those heart conditions.”

In the hours between the announcement of a verdict and its reading, Black Americans turned to social media, expressing angst and fear Chauvin would not be convicted. Years of police brutality with impunity stoked the concern.

As the jury foreman read the verdict, there was silence in the courtroom. But in many cities and homes around the nation there was a sigh of relief.