Derek Chauvin trial aftermath summary
It’s now been just over one day since former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, for killing George Floyd during a 25 May arrest.
Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against the neck of Floyd, who is Black, for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Floyd, who was restrained in the prone position against the ground, died.
Since Chauvin’s conviction late Tuesday afternoon, there have been fast-moving developments in his case and broader criminal justice issues across the US.
Here are some key points from today’s developments in the wake of Chauvin’s verdict:
- Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, announced this morning that the Justice Department “opened a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis police department has engaged in a pattern and practice of unconstitutional ... policing”. The probe will also determine “whether the Minneapolis police department engages in a pattern and practice of using excessive force during protests”. Garland said this new civil investigation was “separate from and independent of the federal criminal investigation into the death of George Floyd”.
- Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over Chauvin’s murder trial, said the jury would remain anonymous until he decided it was safe to release their names, according to the Associated Press. Cahill did not reveal how long jurors’ names would remain secret. Before Chauvin’s trial, Cahill told potential jurors that their names would ultimately be released, but promised that he would protect their privacy for as long as he thought it was needed.
- Chauvin was “segregated” from other inmates since being taken into custody and will remain that way while awaiting his sentencing, Minneapolis’ Star Tribune newspaper said. A Minnesota department of corrections spokeswoman reportedly said that Chauvin was in “administrative segregation” for his own safety, “the state’s most secure unit”. “Administrative segregation is used when someone’s presence in the general population is a safety concern,” the spokeswoman told the newspaper.
- More than 18 million people viewed the reading of Derek Chauvin’s verdict on broadcast and cable TV channels, according to preliminary viewership data cited by the New York Times and other outlets. These numbers do not include figures from NBC, nor do they include viewers who watched the verdict on laptops, phones, or tablets, so the total might be significantly higher.
- A Columbus, Ohio, police officer fatally shot 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant moments before Chauvin’s guilty verdict was read. Authorities said they were responding to an attempted stabbing call, and an officer shot her shortly after they arrived. Hazel Bryant, who identified herself as the girl’s aunt to media, told the Columbus Dispatch newspaper that Ma’Khia resided in an area foster home. Per the newspaper, Hazel claimed that her niece got into a disagreement with someone at this foster home. Ma’Khia did have a knife at one point, Hazel said, but dropped it before the officer opened fire.
- Philonise Floyd commented that his brother, George Floyd “did change the world”. “People, they marched for him, they protested for him, 24/7, while we were sleeping they marched for him in different countries,” he remarked on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Updated
The conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has brought renewed attention to officials’ initial comments on George Floyd’s death.
Chauvin has been convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death during an arrest last May. Chauvin, who is White, kept his knee against the neck of Floyd, who is Black, for nine minutes and 29 seconds.
Minneapolis department members—including the chief—testified that Chauvin’s actions flouted departmental training and policy. But authorities’ initial depiction of events “is worth revisiting to understand the ways that police statements can hide the truth with a mix of passive language, blatant omissions and mangled sense of timing,” writes CNN’s Eric Levenson.
The press release, Levenson notes, has been removed from the department’s website, but is available on The Internet Archive.
The text of this release reads:
Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction
May 25, 2020 (MINNEAPOLIS) On Monday evening, shortly after 8:00 pm, officers from the Minneapolis Police Department responded to the 3700 block of Chicago Avenue South on a report of a forgery in progress. Officers were advised that the suspect was sitting on top of a blue car and appeared to be under the influence.
Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car. He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later.
At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in this incident.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to investigate this incident at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department.
No officers were injured in the incident.
Body worn cameras were on and activated during this incident.
“Everything in the police post is, technically speaking, true. The police were responding to report of a man using a suspected counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd was under the influence of fentanyl and methamphetamine at the time, according to a toxicology report. He did physically resist officers when they tried to get him into the squad car,” Levenson writes. “They were able to get him into handcuffs.The officers did notice he appeared to be in medical distress, and they did call for an ambulance. No weapons were ‘used,’ at least in the sense that they did not shoot him or beat him with a weapon.”
“But taken together, the post is deeply misleading and works to obscure the officers’ role in his death. It flips the timing of the handcuffing, hiding the fact that Floyd was in handcuffs nearly from the start of their interaction,” Levenson points out. “It notes that he was put in handcuffs and ‘suffering medical distress’ in the same sentence, even though they occurred about 20 minutes apart. Most importantly, it ignores what police did in between those two events.”
“There is no mention that police restrained him in a prone position on the ground or that Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck. It does not mention that Chauvin remained in that position for an extended period—9 minutes and 29 seconds,” he says.
Many on social media have flagged the original police account as an example of why official narratives must not be accepted without scrutiny.
The initial police account of #Floyd’s death was further reason not to place full trust in narratives offered by police officials, underscored the need for independent video of police actions.
— Suzanne Sataline (@ssataline) April 21, 2021
https://t.co/M6tLuDJLe5
CNN’s Omar Jimenez commented about the value of independent video in Chauvin’s case.
If Darnella Frazier hadn’t filmed what happened and uploaded it to social media, where would this case be? #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/PUjbh6aNKD
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) April 20, 2021
And The Los Angeles Times’ Maya Lau linked to an article she wrote on how the inaccurate press release came about.
From Aug: I spoke to Mpls Police public info officer who wrote inaccurate press release on Floyd's murder. He got his info fr sergeants & dispatch log, none saying what actually happened. He didn't review body cam b4 issuing statement. His salary: $110k https://t.co/yKIwnyQKUV
— Maya Lau 🦅 (@mayalau) April 20, 2021
Updated
The judge in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial has said the jury would stay anonymous until he decides it’s safe to release their names. Judge Peter Cahill has said this is both to protect the 12 jurors from outside influence, and to safeguard Chauvin’s right to a fair trial, according to the Associated Press.
Cahill has not said how long jurors’ names would remain secret. Prior to Chauvin’s trial, he told potential jurors that their names would eventually be released, but promised that he would protect their privacy for as long as he thought was needed.
As for how long jurors’ names might remain secret, AP explains:
Names of jurors and other data such as questionnaires normally become public soon after trials in Minnesota. But, in a case similar to Chauvin’s, the 2019 trial that led to the conviction of former Minneapolis Officer Mohamed Noor in the shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, Hennepin county judge Kathryn Quaintance waited more than 18 months before agreeing to release the names.
Even then, it took legal action from the Star Tribune to get the names unsealed. And the judge released only names, with no additional identifying information.
In open court, the jurors in Chauvin’s case were referred to solely by number. Both the prosecution and Chauvin’s lawyer tried to avoid bringing up potentially identifying information during the jury selection process. The video feed of Chauvin’s trial did not show jurors.
Updated
What will become of George Floyd Square, the semi-autonomous, traffic-free zone around the junction of 38th St and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered last year?
An informal memorial and community space has remained there ever since.
It was a focus of celebrations yesterday as the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial offered evidence of an historic piece of police accountability, pointing a way forward.
But there were also many solemn moments as people took time to mourn Floyd’s excruciating death in that spot last May.
This young Minnesota photographer, Rudy Meyer, posted some strong images to Twitter, showing two women who volunteer at the square, in grief and contemplation yesterday, next to a figure of an angel painted on the street where Floyd was crushed to death by Chauvin.
Mileesha Smith and Eliza Wesley took a moment yesterday at #GeorgeFloydSquare to mourn George Floyd in the wake of the verdict, proclaiming that Floyd did not die in vain. pic.twitter.com/UKi7QSj9OA
— Rudy FunkMeyer (@rudyfunkmeyer) April 21, 2021
There is going to be a lot of debate, probably painful, about how the area outside the Cup Foods corner store that has become George Floyd Square is going to be organized in the future.
Mileesha Smith looking solemnly at the angel mural of George Floyd yesterday at #GeorgeFloydSquare following the news of the verdict. pic.twitter.com/4rP2WeADOj
— Rudy FunkMeyer (@rudyfunkmeyer) April 21, 2021
Updated
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the “tragic” fatal police shooting of a 16-year-old Black girl in Columbus, Ohio, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said.
A Columbus police officer fatally shot Ma’Khia Bryant on Tuesday afternoon, just moments before the guilty verdict was announced in former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder case.
Psaki has said that Ma’Khia’s death cast a shadow “just as America was hopeful of a step forward”. She says Biden was briefed on Wednesday.
“She was a child. We’re thinking of her friends and family, in the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss,” Psaki has remarked.
The US senate has voted 51-49 to confirm Vanita Gupta to the number 3 position at the Justice Department, making her the first woman of color to be named assistant attorney general. Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, voted with Democrats to confirm Gupta.
Gupta’s confirmation will put a career civil rights attorney at the top echelons of the Justice Department at a moment when civil rights have emerged as an urgent priority for the Biden administration.
Gupta, who previously led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, has an expertise in policing cases and is known as one of the nation’s top voting rights attorneys. Her confirmation came on the same day the Justice Department announced it would launch a pattern and practice investigation into the Minneapolis police department.
Republicans led an unsuccessful effort to block Gupta’s nomination by arguing she advocated for defunding police departments. That strategy was undercut by the fact that Gupta earned the support from many of the nation’s leading police groups.
In interviews earlier this year, people who worked with Gupta said she was a savvy lawyer who knew how to build consensus. A former Justice Department official noted that she oversaw the Civil Rights Division’s probe into the Ferguson police department after officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown in 2014.
Instead of bringing an uphill federal case against Wilson, Gupta oversaw an effort to reach a consent decree with the police department that addressed more systemic issues.
Updated
More than 18 million watched Chauvin verdict on TV: report
More than 18 million people watched the reading of Derek Chauvin’s verdict Tuesday on broadcast and cable news networks, according to reports on preliminary viewership data.
According to The New York Times:
An average of four million people watched CNN from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., more than double the number of viewers the network drew the previous day in the same time slot, according to Nielsen. Another four million watched on ABC, and 3.4 million saw it on Fox News. MSNBC and CBS each had about three million viewers.
The data do not include numbers from NBC, nor do these figures include people who watched the reading on laptops, phones, or tablets, meaning the total might be significantly larger.
Interim Columbus police chief Michael Woods has told reporters that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is reviewing the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant on Tuesday.
The bureau’s investigation comes after an agreement with Columbus in summer 2020. Under this agreement, all police shootings are dealt with by independent investigators in state Attorney General Dave Yost’s office, The Associated Press reports.
The city’s mayor, Andrew Ginther, said the victim’s death was tragic but defended the police officer’s use-of-force.
“We know based on this footage the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community,” Ginther has said at the presser, per AP.
Updated
The Columbus, Ohio police chief has named the officer who fired the fatal shots at 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant on Tuesday and played 911 calls and body-worn camera video at a press conference.
The officer, Nicholas Reardon, has been an officer with the Columbus Police Department, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
During the first 911 call, recorded at 4:32 p.m., there is audible screaming while the caller requests police and states that someone is attempting to stab them. The 911 dispatcher attempts to get more information amid more screaming, and then the call disconnects.
During the second 911 call, someone phones for help, but then said that police were already there. The department has released the entire footage of this shooting from the officer’s body-worn camera, as well as two other officers there.
These videos do show the incident, and also shows officers performing CPR on the teen, the newspaper notes.
Updated
Authorities in Columbus, Ohio are now holding a press conference on the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant on Tuesday.
The press conference can be viewed here.
It’s less than a day since the jury returned a guilty verdict against white former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man.
Emotions are still raw and our correspondent Amudalat Ajasa sent this dispatch:
At George Floyd Square, previously known as 38th and Chicago [Avenue], where George Floyd took his last breath in south Minneapolis last May, there was an incredible transformation yesterday afternoon.
Community members had anxiously awaited the verdict of former officer Derek Chauvin in his murder trial a few miles away at the heavily-fortified downtown court house.
Pamela Weems indicated the street outside the Cup Foods corner store where Chauvin pinned Floyd by the neck during an arrest for an alleged misdemeanor.
“They lynched him, right here,” said Weems.
Mileesha Smith, a community member who looks after the square, which has become a makeshift shrine and meeting space in the last 11 months, said: “It’s not about the verdict. It’s not that simple. Why did George Floyd die?”
Then the jury returned with its verdict and word came through that they were convicting Chauvin of murder, guilty on all three charges he faced.
“It’s just the beginning” community members screamed at #georgefloydsquare. #ChauvinTrail #derekchauvinisguilty pic.twitter.com/tTTVWRYr5q
— Amudalat Ajasa (@AmudalatAjasa) April 20, 2021
Within seconds, the crowd’s anxious energy was replaced by an eruption of cheers and sobs.
One cheer from the middle of the crowd sparked widespread shrieks throughout the entire square.
“Can you even believe it: all the counts? We got it. We got it here in Minnesota,” Weems said.
For many like Weems, who is a 65-year-old Black woman, this was the first time police officers were held accountable for murdering Black people in her lifetime.
It is the first murder conviction of a white serving police officer for killing someone while on duty in Minnesota’s history.
Weems added: “Today is what we’ve been fighting for since the 60’s --the same fight. I heard the ‘blue wall’ cracking.” She was referring to the blue wall of police power and, often, silence when wrongdoing by officers occurs.
A gatekeeper at the square, Eliza Wesley, and Smith knelt over the painted angel mural on the street where George Floyd died as Wesley tearfully yelled: “God don’t lie.”
Droves of people arrived. The square burst into celebration as people danced to trombones and saxophones that glistened in the newly sunny sky.
Cheers, clapping and tears flowed through the streets of #GeorgeFloydSquare as Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts. #ChauvinIsGuilty pic.twitter.com/iroV3LoBHw
— Amudalat Ajasa (@AmudalatAjasa) April 20, 2021
Midday Summary
Following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty yesterday or murdering George Floyd, there have been many developments in Minneapolis and across the US.
Here are some of the developments, and breaking news stories, that have emerged:
- US attorney general Merrick Garland has announced this morning that the Justice Department “opened a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern and practice of unconstitutional ... policing.” “The new civil investigation is separate from and independent of the federal criminal investigation into the death of George Floyd,” Garland says. The probe will also weigh “whether the Minneapolis police department engages in a pattern and practice of using excessive force during protests.”
- A police officer in Columbus, Ohio fatally shot 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant moments before Chauvin’s guilty verdict was handed down. The police said they were responding to an attempted stabbing call, and an officer shot her shortly after their arrival. Hazel Bryant, who identified herself as the girl’s aunt, told the Columbus Dispatch that Ma’Khia resided in an area foster home. According to the Dispatch, Hazel said the teen got into a dispute with someone at this foster home, and that Ma’Khia had a knife but dropped it before an officer shot her multiple times.
- After the shooting, protesters gathered in Columbus to demand justice. “We don’t get to celebrate nothing,” KC Traynor, one of the protesters who spoke with the Dispatch, reportedly says. “In the end, you know what, you can’t be Black.”
- Philonise Floyd has said that his brother, George Floyd “did change the world.” “People, they marched for him, they protested for him, 24/7, while we were sleeping they marched for him in different countries,” he said on ABC’s Good Morning America.
- Chauvin is being “segregated” from other inmates while awaiting his sentencing, Minneapolis’ Star Tribune newspaper says. A Minnesota Department of Corrections spokeswoman has reportedly said that Chauvin is in “administrative segregation” for his own safety. This is “the state’s most secure unit.” “Administrative segregation is used when someone’s presence in the general population is a safety concern,” the spokeswoman also tells the newspaper.
Updated
The murder conviction of an American police officer in the death of George Floyd has reignited calls to tackle racial injustice in the British law enforcement, with campaigners calling on the UK government to act on deaths in custody. Campaigners have warned of a culture of impunity with 30 years passing since a police officer was convicted of murder or manslaughter following a death following contact with police.
Police chiefs insist officers are fully accountable for their actions but Inquest, a charity that monitors state related deaths, dispute that. They say inquest juries have returned nine unlawful killing verdicts involving the police with one unlawful killing finding recorded by a public inquiry into a police shooting, as well as other critical findings of force used. None have led to manslaughter or murder convictions.
Aima, the 19-year-old co-founder of the youth group All Black Lives, which were behind many of last summer’s anti-racism protests in the UK, says: “Derek Chauvin has been found guilty on all charges and that is a good thing yes, but it took half of the world protesting for that to happen.”
“Just hours after Derek Chauvin was convicted a 16 year old black girl, Makhia Bryant, was murdered by the police. The system doesn’t work and has never worked, it was made by powerful white men to uphold white supremacy,” Aima says. “A system that continuously murders people and are barely held accountable for it cannot be reformed, it must be abolished. 1 in 1000 black men are expected to be killed at the hands of police in the US. Our prayers and thoughts are with George Floyd’s family.”
Halima Begum, chief executive of the race equality think tank Runnymede Trust, says: “While this verdict sets a welcomed precedent, including the role the US Police as an institution played in supporting this investigation, it remains to be seen whether this will follow suit in Britain.
“Tomorrow marks the 28th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. It took 18 years for the family to secure convictions for the murder and just last summer, in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, the Metropolitan Police declared the investigation ‘inactive’ to which Stephen’s mother stated: ‘The Met might give up, I never will’”.
“While we have a long way to go in tackling institutional racism in the UK, this verdict provides us with an opportunity to unite together on racial equality, and find unity on a shared view as to what justice could and should look like,” Begum says.
Judeah Reynolds, who was just 9-years-old when she witnessed the death of George Floyd, has said she feels “proud” about helping convict former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Reynolds, who is now 10, testified against Chauvin at his trial.
Reynolds discusses her reaction to the Chauvin verdict in a new interview with Good Morning America.
Guardian correspondent Alexandra Villareal writes:
Judeah Reynolds, now 10, watched on television with her parents as Chauvin was found guilty on all counts, including unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
“My mom said that we brought change. My dad said we won,” Judeah told Good Morning America on Wednesday.
Judeah’s teenage cousin, Darnella Frazier, recorded the bystander video of Floyd’s death, showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for minutes.
Her footage brought immense scrutiny and attention to the case, upending law enforcement’s misleading narrative and helping to spark mass protests against racial injustice and police brutality last summer.
The conviction of Derek Chauvin has added to the momentum in calls for policing and justice reform that were re-energized last summer.
Given that George Floyd’s fatal encounter with police was spurred by an allegation that he used a counterfeit $20 bill at a store, advocates have called for police and prosecutors to re-evaluate their policies on low-level offenses and crimes. They say the pursuit of these cases disproportionately impacts persons of color.
In some cities across the US, officials are taking steps to address criticism of policies on low-level offenses and crimes. The Manhattan, New York District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., has announced a new policy “to decline-to-prosecute prostitution and unlicensed massage.”
Vance appeared virtually in Manhattan Criminal Court this morning and moved to dismiss 914 prostitution and unlicensed massage cases, in keeping with the office’s recent policy to prevent “unnecessary future contacts with the criminal justice system, eliminating the collateral consequences associated with having a prostitution case or conviction, and empowering New Yorkers to interact with law enforcement without fear of arrest or deportation.”
Vance has also moved to dismiss 5,080 “loitering for the purpose of prostitution cases,” in the wake of New York state’s repealing a law known as “Walking While Trans” earlier in 2021.
“Over the last decade we’ve learned from those with lived experience, and from our own experience on the ground: criminally prosecuting prostitution does not make us safer, and too often, achieves the opposite result by further marginalizing vulnerable New Yorkers,” Vance has commented.
Vance’s announcement also comes in the wake of a deadly shooting spree at several Atlanta-area massage spas. The spree, which left eight dead, six of whom were Asian women, highlighted the vulnerability of massage spa workers—who are routinely targeted by law enforcement, USA Today notes.
Abigail Swenstein, a staff Attorney with The Legal Aid Society’s exploitation intervention project, has commented of Vance’s announcement: “We welcome this action from DA Vance to dismiss all pending prostitution and unlicensed massage related cases as well as his new policy to decline to prosecute these arrests going forward.”
“We thank the DA’s office, and most notably, the prosecutors in the human trafficking unit, who have listened to and acted on the knowledge gained from speaking to advocates and most importantly, survivors and those with lived experience as sex workers,” Swenstein also says.
“Countless sex workers, those profiled as sex workers, and trafficking victims have suffered under the weight of convictions and warrants. These perpetual punishments extend into family and immigration court, and impact our clients’ ability to find stability through housing and employment.”
More details have emerged about Derek Chauvin’s incarceration as he awaits sentencing in eight weeks. The former Minneapolis police officer was taken into custody after being convicted of three charges— second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter—in George Floyd’s death during a 25 May 2020 arrest.
CNN’s Jim Sciutto has posted photos of a cell similar to where Chauvin is being housed. A Minnesota Department of Corrections spokeswoman has told the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper that Chauvin is being kept under “administrative segregation” for his own safety at the Oak Park Heights Prison.
This is a cell similar to the one where Derek Chauvin is being held while in a restricted housing unit at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park, a Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson tells CNN. pic.twitter.com/4grRuSVuLc
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) April 21, 2021
An updated mugshot of Chauvin has also been released.
This is Derek Chauvin’s new mugshot after being found GUILTY on all counts of murder, just released by Minnesota Department of Corrections. #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/hFwDy5SOCJ
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) April 21, 2021
Derek Chauvin placed in 'most secure' prison unit for his safety: report
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer found guilty Tuesday in George Floyd’s death, is being “segregated” from other inmates, the Minneapolis’ Star Tribune newspaper reports.
Chauvin, who was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, has been in custody since yesterday afternoon. Judge Peter Cahill revoked Chauvin’s bail shortly after reading the guilty verdict; deputies handcuffed and escorted him out of the courtroom.
A Minnesota Department of Corrections spokeswoman has told the newspaper that Chauvin is housed under “administrative segregation” for his own safety. He is now at the Oak Park Heights Prison until his sentencing, which is expected to take place in eight weeks.
Chauvin is placed in the Administrative Control Unit, which the spokeswoman describes as “the state’s most secure unit.” She has reportedly explained: “Administrative segregation is used when someone’s presence in the general population is a safety concern.”
The Star Tribune notes that Oak Park Heights Prison is the same facility where Chauvin was taken following his first arrest.
Updated
Darnella Frazier, who was just 17 when she filmed Derek Chauvin pressing his knee against George Floyd’s neck during a May 2020 arrest, has been extensively praised following yesterday’s guilty verdict.
The former Minneapolis police officer was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, in Floyd’s death. The footage recorded by Frazier—who testified at Chauvin’s trial—went viral and became an integral piece of evidence in prosecutors’ case.
CNN quotes Angela Harrellson, Floyd’s aunt, as saying: “The sad thing is if it hadn’t been for that 17-year-old girl Darnella, it would have been another black man that was killed by the police ... and they would have said, ‘Oh, it was drugs, oh it was this.”
“And we would never have had the story we would have. And wouldn’t be here today talking.”
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has thanked the teen for her “humanity.”
“Taking that video is maybe the only reason Derek Chauvin will go to prison,” he has said, per CNN.
Oprah Winfrey has said in a Tweet that she is “grateful” to Frazier.
#GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/HKeNlthckW
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) April 20, 2021
Updated
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s announcement moments ago that Department of Justice attorneys will investigate the Minneapolis Police Department comes amid a recent shift in DOJ policy.
Garland has said that if DOJ finds unlawful or unconstitutional policing in the Minneapolis Police Department, one possible remedy is a “consent decree.” At its most basic level, this would be an agreement between the DOJ and Minneapolis police department to change any unlawful or unconstitutional “pattern or practices.”
Several weeks ago, Garland rescinded a Trump administration mandate that limited the employment of consent decrees in combatting police misconduct, The New York Times reports. Garland’s decision on consent decree policy has come as the Justice Department “prepared to step up its role in investigating allegations of racist and illegal behavior by police forces amid a nationwide outcry about the deaths of Black people at the hands of officers,” per The Times.
Garland’s recent decision on consent decrees also marks one of the Biden White House’s “first significant moves to hold police forces accountable in cases where they are found to have violated federal laws.”
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has concluded his remarks about the Justice Department’s investigation into the Minneapolis police department. Garland’s remarks come one day after former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the death of George Floyd during a May 2020 arrest.
Garland says that the department will issue a public report on its findings if it finds “reasonable cause to believe there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.”
If the department does find that there is a pattern and practice, there are several possible ways to address this.
“The justice department also has the authority to bring a civil lawsuit to provide injunctive relief that orders the Minneapolis police department to change its policies and practices to avoid further violations,” he says. The local police department, in that situation, would enter a settlement agreement “to align policing practices with the law.”
“Most of our nation’s law enforcement officers do their difficult jobs honorably and lawfully,” Garland remarks, saying that he “strongly believe that good officers do not want to work in systems that allow bad practices.”
“The challenges we face are deeply woven into our history,” he says, adding shortly thereafter, “we undertake this task with determination and urgency knowing that change cannot wait.”
Garland: DoJ to investigate potentially 'unconstitutional' policing
Attorney general Merrick B. Garland has made official the Department of Justice’s probe into the Minneapolis police department.
“Today, I’m announcing that the Justice Department has opened a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern and practice of unconstitutional ... policing,” he says.
“The new civil investigation is separate from and independent of the federal criminal investigation into the death of George Floyd...”
The investigation will also “assess whether the Minneapolis police department engages in a pattern and practice of using excessive force during protests,” he says.
More soon...
Updated
Attorney general Merrick B. Garland, who is reportedly expected to announce a US Department of Justice investigation into the Minneapolis police department, has started delivering remarks.
DoJ to announce Minneapolis police investigation – source
Attorney general Merrick Garland is expected to announce that the Justice Department is opening a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis, after the guilty verdict against former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, in the murder of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man pinned to the street by Chauvin last May, the Associated Press is reporting.
The justice department is already investigating whether the officers involved in Floyd’s death violated Floyd’s civil rights.
The investigation announced Wednesday is known as a “pattern or practice” and will be a more sweeping probe of the entire department and may result in major changes to policing there, the official said.
The official had direct knowledge of the matter but was not authorized to speak publicly about the upcoming announcement, planned for Wednesday morning.
The investigation will examine practices used by police and whether the department engages in discriminatory practices and will examine the department’s handling of misconduct allegations.
We’ll have more for you on this ASAP.
Updated
George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd said this morning that “he did change the world” of the late 46-year-old murdered by now ex-police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis last May.
Chauvin was convicted by a jury in the city yesterday afternoon.
Philonise Floyd praised the civil rights uprising that occurred after his brother’s killing.
“People, they marched for him, they protested for him, 24/7, while we were sleeping they marched for him in different countries,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America.
George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd reacts to Chauvin guilty verdict: "It was accountability."@michaelstrahanhttps://t.co/ZD3VsMzR08 pic.twitter.com/MMIOKguDdD
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 21, 2021
Updated
Philonise Floyd speaks out to say his brother George's life mattered
Hello everyone, welcome to our dedicated live blog about what is now the aftermath of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, convicted yesterday or murdering George Floyd.
Reaction is still flooding in on this historic verdict and debate about the future is lively. There’s a lot going on today and a lot more about yesterday’s tumultuous events to unpack.
Many in Minnesota, the US and beyond celebrated the moment and sighed with relief , believing that justice had been served. Please stay tuned as we bring you all the developments.
This blog is separate from our daily US politics blog, which you can find on the Guardian US site’s front page, helmed by blog star Joanie Greve.
- George Floyd’s brother, Philonise, said in a live television interview this morning that the family was pleased with the verdict when Chauvin was found guilty on all charges, saying: “It makes us happy knowing that his life, it mattered.”
- Philonise Floyd thanked all the protesters all around the world who continued marching and demonstrating this last year in support of an end to police brutality, killing of Black people, and for racial justice and equality.
- Derek Chauvin is waking up behind bars this morning in Minnesota. He will be sentenced in eight weeks’ time, judge Peter Cahill said in court yesterday. There will be a lot of legal argument before that. Murder in the second degree carries a max penalty of 40 years in prison. Chauvin also faces federal civil rights charges.
- The other three officers who were with Chauvin, and subordinate to him, when they arrested George Floyd on May 25, 2020, are due to stand trial together in August. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng are charged with aiding and abetting murder.
