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Family can 'breathe again' as Derek Chauvin found guilty

The brother of George Floyd has choked back tears after former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges in a trial dubbed as an "historic" moment for America.

Chauvin, 45, was convicted on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter over Floyd's death on May 25, 2020.

He pleaded not guilty and jurors took less than 24 hours to reach their verdict.

LIVE UPDATES: US police officer found guilty of killing George Floyd

In an emotional statement, younger brother Philonise Floyd responded to the guilty verdict, saying his family could finally "breathe again".

"It was a motion picture, the world had seen his life being extinguished, and I could do nothing but watch, especially in that courtroom over and over and over again as my brother was murdered," he said.

Philonise Floyd was seen clasping his hands over his head in prayer as the verdict was read.

As the third guilty verdict was read, his hands shook back and forth, as he kept his head down and eyes closed.

After court concluded, he was seen crying as he hugged all four prosecutors.

"I was just praying they would find him guilty," he said.

"As an African American, we usually never get justice."

Chauvin was seemingly expressionless, wearing a mask inside the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis as the guilty verdict was handed down.

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Judge Peter Cahill granted the motion to have Chauvin's bail revoked and he was led away from the dock in handcuffs and taken into custody by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

The second-degree murder charge stated Chauvin assaulted Floyd with his knee, unintentionally killing him. The third-degree murder charge said Chauvin acted with a "depraved mind," and the manslaughter charge said his "culpable negligence" caused Floyd's death.

Former police officer Derek Chauvin was on trial on second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd.

Attorney Ben Crump in a statement described the case as a "turning point" in American history.

"Painfully earned justice has arrived for George Floyd's family and the community here in Minneapolis, but today's verdict goes far beyond this city and has significant implications for the country and even the world," Mr Crump said.

"Justice for Black America is justice for all of America. This case is a turning point in American history for accountability of law enforcement and sends a clear message we hope is heard clearly in every city and every state."

Philonise Floyd said despite the guilty verdict, his work fighting for justice had just begun.

"Reverend Al (Sharpton) always told me, 'we got to keep fighting," he said.

"I'm going to put up a fight every day, because I'm not just fighting for George anymore.

"I'm fighting for everybody around this world."

Emotional scenes have since erupted across the US, with people celebrating and cheering as justice prevails for Floyd.

Crowds gathered outside the Minneapolis courtroom and at the location where Floyd was killed, chanting "justice" and "Black Lives Matter" after hearing the verdict at 4.10pm local time today.

9News US correspondent Alison Piotrowski, who was outside the court, told Today people had flooded Minneapolis streets to rejoice over the news.

"We've got people hugging here and really beautiful, emotional scenes, people are celebrating," she said.

"This is justice for George Floyd's family and also potentially a historic turning point for a country that has been so divided."

Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross told reporters outside the courthouse she had not doubted that justice would be served.

"We're finally starting to see. We walked around with eyes wide shut for a long time, so they're starting to open today, and this is going to be the first in a future of change," she said.

"For me, it means that my friends and people that have also lost loved ones now have a chance to get their cases reopened."

Ms Ross said Floyd had brought change.

"He changed my world. He changed the world. He changed everybody."

One woman outside the courthouse told 9News she was "overly enthralled" by the verdict for the crime that shocked America and the world.

"Just thank God," she said.

"I thought from the beginning they were going to do right. We were going to do this. It was going to stop here. I'm so proud."

The guilty verdict means Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder and up to 10 years for manslaughter.

However, sentencing guidelines recommend about 12.5 years in prison for each murder charge and about four years for the manslaughter charge.

Judge Cahill said sentencing would begin in eight weeks' time.

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US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden called members of Floyd's family after the verdict was delivered.

President Biden appeared to be "quite emotional".

"They were still I think just inside the courtroom there, or in the courthouse certainly, and Joe Biden was quite emotional and she was ecstatic," 9News US correspondent Amelia Adams told Today.

"He said: 'I'm so relieved we finally have justice.' He also promised that this would be the start of doing more. He said: 'We're not going to stop until we see change. There will be more action.' So this is the President of the United States promising that today.

People react outside the Hennepin County Government Centre after the verdict was read in the Derek Chauvin trial

"It is that line in the sand, if you like, that turning point for the way America, the way certainly the American justice system, law enforcement system, treats black people in this country."

'A giant step forward'

Speaking after the verdict was handed down, President Biden said the conviction would be a "giant step forward" for the nation against systemic racism.

"It was a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see … the systemic racism… a stain on our nation's soul, the knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans," Mr Biden said.

A woman celebrates the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House on April 20, 2021 in Washington, D.C

Reporting from Los Angeles, Adams said the verdict was a "historic day" for America and the Black Lives Matter movement.

"It is enormous, a very much historic moment," she said.

"This is really vindication for the BLM movement. It will be seen as a moment of reckoning."

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) in a statement said the conviction demonstrated to the world white supremacy would not "win", but the verdict would not bring back Floyd.

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"We hope this guilty verdict begins to show that white supremacy will not win. White supremacy has no place in democracy, especially one that is supposed to guarantee us our freedom to live," the statement said.

"But let us also be clear that this still does not bring our loved ones back. We do not get George Floyd back. His daughter and family have to grow up without him. His family continues his legacy through the George Floyd Memorial Foundation."

Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton told reporters the fight for justice for Floyd may have been won, but the battle and war for equality continued.

"This is the first time in the history of this state that a white police officer has been convicted of a murder," he said.

"But the war and the fight is not over. Just two days from now we're going to Daunte Wright in this same county."

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1384626851511951360

Former US President Barack Obama in a statement said today a jury "did the right thing", but echoed sentiments America had a long way to go for justice to be achieved for Black Americans.

"We know that true justice is much more than a single verdict in a single trial," he said.

"While today's verdict may have been a necessary step on the road to progress, it was far from a sufficient one. We cannot rest."

Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes as two other officers stood by.

Under the officer's knees, the 46-year-old man gasped for air, while repeatedly exclaiming: "I can't breathe" and ultimately went silent.

His death sparked months of protests in the US and around the world.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison praised the community members for recording the video.

"They stopped and they raised their voices because they knew what they were seeing was wrong," he said.

"They didn't need to be medical professions or experts in the use of force. They knew it was wrong, and they were right. These community members, this bouquet of humanity, did it again in this trial. They performed simple yet profound acts of courage. They told the truth, and they told the whole world the truth about what they saw.

"What happened on that street was wrong. We owe them our gratitude for fulfilling their civic duty and for their courage in telling the truth."

headline

Floyd Verdict: Police, National Guard Deploy in Major US Cities

National Guard troops were on hand Tuesday in cities throughout the country following the guilty verdict for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Chavin was found guilty on all charges in the murder trial of George Floyd, whose death led to months of demonstrations against police brutality last summer.

Details of the DC Guard: Ahead of the verdict, the D.C. National Guard approved a request from the Metropolitan Police Department to activate about 250 personnel.

The D.C. National Guard announced in a statement Monday that it would activate the personnel “to support local law enforcement in response to potential First Amendment demonstrations.”

The force is approved to support D.C. and law enforcement “as needed” until May 9.

The guardsmen were specifically requested to “assist police with street closures at multiple intersections in order to provide safety in and around pedestrian areas,” according to the statement.

Who made the request: In a letter sent to the D.C. National Guard on April 8, Christopher Rodriguez, the director of the D.C. government’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, requested that the Guard be activated to help the D.C. police manage crowds, block vehicles at traffic posts and provide a “quick response force.”

Elsewhere in the country: In downtown Minneapolis, a spokesperson for the Minneapolis National Guard confirmed to The Hill last week that 3,000 Guardsmen are being deployed. 

The Minnesota National Guard was activated as part of Operation Safety Net, a joint undertaking by the Minneapolis Police Department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the state of Minnesota and local jurisdictions to “protect people, freedom of speech and property during the Derek Chauvin trial as well as the aftermath of the police involved shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.” 

Wright, a young Black man, was killed in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on Sunday, just miles away from where Floyd died. 

Similar measures are underway in other cities, including in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Atlanta and New York, where police presence will be increased.  

The post Floyd Verdict: Police, National Guard Deploy in Major US Cities appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Storms in the tropics, frost in the south

A trough is triggering rain and storms in the northeast tropics, heaviest on the tropical Queensland east coast.

A cold front is bringing brisk winds and showers to southeast NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.

LIVE UPDATES: US police officer found guilty of killing George Floyd

Canberra is also off to a chilly start this morning with temperatures dropping to 2C and frost expected every morning for the remainder of the week.

A high is clearing western Victoria and South Australia and is keeping elsewhere generally dry.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued strong wind warnings for four states including NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania today.

A frost warning is also in place for SA with temperatures down to -1C forecast for parts of the Mid North, Riverland, Murraylands and Upper South East forecast districts.

While southern states shiver through the tail end of yesterday's cold front, the Northern Territory will remain mostly sunny and very warm today. Showers increasing, mild-to-warm in Arnhem. Mostly sunny, warm over the interior and in the south.

Reported with Weatherzone.

headline

Floyd Killing: Chauvin Found Guilty, Could Get Life

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd, whose death led to months of demonstrations against police brutality last summer.

The verdict was read late Tuesday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis. It took the jury less than a day to come to its decision.

Chauvin was found guilty on all three of the criminal counts that he was facing — second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder. He could face up to life in prison.

Chauvin showed no emotion in the courtroom as the verdict was read. He was handcuffed and taken into custody immediately after Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill read the jury’s decision.

The trial was seen as a referendum on policing, and whether a conviction of a police officer for killing a Black person could be won.

Graphic bystander footage of the fatal arrest showed Floyd, 46, pleading with Chauvin that he couldn’t breathe as the officer pinned him to the street, his knee on Floyd’s neck.

Chauvin’s knee remained on Floyd’s neck for well over nine minutes, even after Floyd became unresponsive.

Floyd died a short time later at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Prosecutors argued it was an intentional act that directly led to Floyd’s death, while the officer’s defense portrayed it as a normal form of police work.

Chauvin’s legal defense also rested on the idea that other factors led to Floyd’s death, a premise rejected by prosecutors.

Particularly, Chauvin defense lawyer Eric Nelson unsuccessfully argued that Floyd died from the drugs in his system at the time of his arrest and underlying heart disease.

It was known that Floyd struggled with opioid addiction and trace amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine were found during the county medical examiner’s autopsy. The autopsy also found that Floyd’s heart was slightly enlarged and several arteries were significantly occluded.

However, Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker stated in his autopsy report that Floyd’s cause of death was “cardiopulmonary arrest [the stopping of both the heart and lungs] complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”

Baker described both the drugs in Floyd’s system and his heart disease as contributing factors but said that neither were direct causes of Floyd’s death.

He also categorized Floyd’s death as a homicide, which in medical terms simply means death at the hands of someone else.

During his testimony, the doctor made it clear that his opinion of how Floyd died had not changed.

In addition to Baker, the prosecution called forth numerous other medical professionals who testified that Floyd died from low levels of oxygen, also known as asphyxia.

Several officers from the Minneapolis Police Department also testified against Chauvin — a rare occurrence in a case like this — explaining to the court that Chauvin’s conduct was not something trained by the force.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo was one of the members of the department who took the stand, vehemently condemning what Chauvin did.

Minneapolis and other cities around the country had braced for an opposite verdict, with many mobilizing their national guard and declaring a state of emergency.

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Obama: “The jury did the right thing”

From CNN’s Maureen Chowdhury

Former President Barack Obama reacted to the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin case.

“Today, a jury did the right thing. But true justice requires much more,” Obama tweeted.

In a statement, Obama also noted:

“True justice requires that we come to terms with the fact that Black Americans are treated differently, every day. It requires us to recognize that millions of our friends, family and fellow citizens live in fear that their next encounter with law enforcement could be their last. And it requires us to do the sometimes thankless, often difficult, but always necessary work for making the America we know more like the America we believe in.

“While today’s verdict may have been a necessary step on the road to progress, it was far from sufficient one. We cannot rest.”

The post Floyd Killing: Chauvin Found Guilty, Could Get Life appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.