April 20, 2021
A Hennepin County jury on Tuesday found ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.
In one of the most consequential verdicts in Minnesota history, Chauvin was found guilty on all counts, including second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s killing last May.
Chauvin was one of several officers called to a south Minneapolis street corner May 25 on a report of a man allegedly using a counterfeit $20 to buy cigarettes at a corner store. He arrived to find other officers struggling to arrest Floyd and get him in a squad car as Floyd pleaded that he was claustrophobic.
The encounter turned fatal as officers pulled Floyd to the ground to subdue him during the arrest.
Bystander video captured Chauvin with his knee pinned against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as the man lay pinned to the street, handcuffed and face down, pleading that he couldn’t breathe while people shouted from the curb that Floyd was dying.
Weeks of trial testimony revolved around a basic question: Who or what was responsible for Floyd’s death? The defense pointed to Floyd’s health conditions and the drugs in his system. The prosecution put the blame on Chauvin’s actions and his knee on Floyd’s neck.
The presumptive sentence for second-degree murder in the state of Minnesota is 12 years. It’s the same for third-degree murder. The presumptive sentence for second-degree manslaughter is four years. With each count, though, prosecutors have asked Judge Peter Cahill to consider aggravating factors when sentencing Chauvin.
Chauvin was led away in handcuffs after the verdicts were read. Sentencing is expected in about eight weeks.
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