Jury: ‘Ex-Police Officer Guilty In Killing George Floyd’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of killing Black suspect George Floyd.
A jury reached its verdict in a case that sparked Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and racial injustice worldwide. However, the demonstrations were in several instances overshadowed by violence, riots, and looting.
Jurors deliberated for more than 10 hours over two days before reaching a verdict in the high-profile and closely watched case stemming from Floyd’s May 25, 2020, death.
The prosecution and defense teams presented nearly six hours of closing arguments. They focused on vastly different views about the circumstances that led to Floyd’s death in May outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis.
Chauvin’s defense argued that drugs and poor health caused Floyd’s death. But the prosecution urged the jury to believe what they saw in the video.
The former police officer was filmed kneeling on Floyd for over nine minutes during his arrest last May, sparking protests in the US and worldwide over police use of force against minorities.
Chauvin, 45, was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The murder charges each carry 10¾ years to 15 years behind bars, while manslaughter carries 41 to 57 months. US police are rarely convicted of murder, and this high-profile trial has been seen as a watershed in race relations
On the final day of trial, Chauvin told the judge he would not testify in his defense and instead invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
After the jury’s verdict was announced, Judge Peter A. Cahill ordered that Chauvin be immediately taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies. Chauvin, free on bail since last fall, was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs. He will be sentenced in eight weeks following the completion of a pre-sentencing report about his background.
The trial took place amid tight security and fears of riots following another police killing of a black suspect. Daunte Wright — a 20-year-old black man, was shot dead earlier this month when a police officer allegedly mistook her gun for her Taser.
The incident in the neighboring city of Brooklyn Center sparked a new round of violent protests, heightening tensions.
Wright died about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away from where Floyd was killed. Police in cities throughout the U.S., including New York City, were prepared for potential violence following the verdict in the Chauvin case.
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