Following George Floyd’s arrest by Minneapolis police and subsequent death on May 25, 2020, the department issued a statement titled “Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction.”
The statement, which has since been deleted from the department’s website, did not identify Floyd by name, nor did it go into any detail on the measures police used in restraining Floyd.
Floyd’s death led to Tuesday’s conviction of Derek Chauvin on three murder and manslaughter charges.
“No officers were injured in the incident,” the statement added.
Chauvin, 45, was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd, all of which required the jury to conclude that his actions were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd’s death and that his use of force was unreasonable.
Judge Peter Cahill said sentencing would happen in about eight weeks. Chauvin’s bail was revoked, and he was handcuffed and taken into custody following the verdict.
Floyd died last May after Chauvin, a white officer, pinned his knee on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for about 9 ½ minutes in a case that triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.
The jury — six white people and six people who are Black or multiracial — deliberated over parts of two days in Minneapolis, a city on edge against another outbreak of unrest. The verdict arrived after about 10 hours of deliberations. The verdict came after 45 witnesses and three weeks of testimony.
The verdict set off jubilation mixed with sorrow across the city and around the nation. 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.
On Wednesday, Philonise Floyd described his thoughts while watching Chauvin being handcuffed. He recalled to ABC’s “Good Morning America” how it appeared “a lot easier” on Chauvin than when his brother was handcuffed before his death, but said it still represented “accountability.”
“It makes us happier knowing that his life, it mattered, and he didn’t die in vain,” he said.
The jury’s decision was hailed around the country as justice by other political and civic leaders and celebrities, including former President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a white man, who said on Twitter that Floyd “would still be alive if he looked like me. That must change.”
About the Author
