Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck.
This case triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.Chauvin, 45, was immediately led away with his hands cuffed behind his back and could be sent to prison for decades.
The jury declared Chauvin guilty on all three charges, namely second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The charges carry a possible sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
The jurors deliberated for 10 hours over two days before arriving at their historic decision on Tuesday morning. The verdict was read out later in the day as thousands of National Guard troops and police officers stood by. Police officers in the US have rarely been convicted of murder.
Hundreds of people poured into the streets of Minneapolis, some running through traffic with banners. Drivers blared their horns in celebration. “Today, we are able to breathe again,” Floyd’s younger brother Philonise said at a joyous family news conference where tears streamed down his face as he likened Floyd to the 1955 Mississippi lynching victim Emmett Till, except that this time there were cameras around to show the world what happened.
