After a racially charged trial that was seen as a crucial test of police transparency in the United States, Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted Tuesday of murdering African-American George Floyd. Chauvin, 45, was found guilty on all three charges against him: second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter after a trial began for less than 11 hours.
Chauvin’s arrest was a watershed moment in the country’s tumultuous racial past, as well as a critique of law enforcement’s treatment of African-Americans. The names of the jurors were kept hidden and will not be revealed until the judge deems it necessary to do so. In August, three other former Minneapolis police officers accused of admitting murder in Floyd’s death will go on trial.
George Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after being arrested for allegedly passing a fraudulent $20 bill at a corner market for a pack of cigarettes. When police attempted to place him in a patrol car, he struggled and begged that he was claustrophobic; they pushed him to the ground. The case revolved around the traumatized bystander footage of Floyd constantly exclaiming, “I can’t breathe,” and onlookers shouting at Chauvin to stop while the cop put his knee on or near Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes, according to authorities. Floyd gradually became deafeningly quiet and lifeless.
Text by: Ankita Dutta, IBTN9
Follow IBTN9
Facebook:
