A jury on Tuesday (April 20) found former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of all three charges in the death of George Floyd nearly a year ago.
People holding a portrait of Floyd cheer after hearing that Chauvin, a former Minnesota police officer, was found guilty in George Floyd Plaza in Minneapolis, Minn. (April 20, 2021)
Shawn was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree unpremeditated murder.
Twelve jurors, made up of six white and six black or multiracial people, heard closing arguments Monday. They spent about six hours discussing information gained from the trial, which lasted three weeks, before reaching a guilty verdict.
In closing arguments Monday, prosecutors charged white police officer Shawn with killing Floyd, an African-American, by kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Defense attorney Eric Nelson argued that Floyd died in part from drug use and that Shawn was enforcing the law the way he was trained to police when he arrested Floyd on a Minneapolis roadside last May.
Shawn held Floyd, who was handcuffed, to the ground. Floyd lay down on a city street and gasped 27 times that he couldn’t breathe, according to the arrest video. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher summed up the case against Schowen.
“He was trapped and his knees were on his neck,” Schleicher said. Shawn pinned Floyd for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
“George Floyd is not a threat to anyone,” Schleicher said. “All it takes is some love. And he didn’t have any in the slightest.”
Nelson argued, “If it was an authorized use of force, it’s not a crime.”
The defense attorney concluded his statement by saying “the state prosecutor did not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” and he asked the jury to rule that Shawn did not commit the murder and non-premeditated homicide he was charged with.
Floyd was suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a nearby convenience store.
The incident, which occurred on May 25 of last year, was an unusual and minor investigation that led to Floyd’s death. The case subsequently became one of the most significant criminal trials in the United States in years.
Shawn entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
Last week, Shovin invoked the Constitution’s guarantee that defendants cannot be compelled to incriminate themselves and was not questioned on the witness stand. Under U.S. law, the burden of proof to prove the defendant’s guilt on the charges rests with the prosecution, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Presiding Judge Peter Cahill told the jury not to draw conclusions about Shawn’s guilt or innocence because he refused to testify.
On Monday, after letting the jury go, Judge Cahill criticized Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). Waters, who is black, has been a member of the House since 1991. She recently told Minnesota protesters to “stay in the streets” when talking about the trial and to become “more aggressive” and “more confrontational” if Shawn is acquitted.
“I want elected officials to stop talking about this case, especially in a way that disrespects the rule of law, the branch of justice and our functions,” Cahill said.
Despite Cahill’s call, GOP President Joe Biden described the evidence against Shavon as overwhelming Tuesday, before the jury announced its verdict.
“I pray that the verdict will be the right one,” Biden said during a meeting with Hispanic lawmakers in the Oval Office of the White House. “I think it’s overwhelming in my view. The jury is now sequestered, or I wouldn’t be saying this.”
As the trial drew to a close, Minnesota authorities prepared to guard against street protests triggered by the verdict. Many stores have nailed up wooden boards to prevent a repeat of the violence. Nearly a year ago, there was local vandalism and looting in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Floyd’s death sparked protests in many U.S. cities and around the world, some of which became violent. The Black Lives Matter movement was at the forefront of the demonstrations, but thousands of people previously unaffiliated with the black-led protest movement joined in, condemning the actions of Shawn and the broader police treatment of minorities.
The same issues raised by Floyd’s death came back to haunt the community, and on April 11, Daunte Wright, a black man, was shot and killed by a police officer during a police traffic stop in suburban Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis. The white policewoman resigned afterwards. Brooklyn Center is just a few miles from the site of the Shawn trial.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the U.S. Congress said they plan to hold a reprimand vote Wednesday in response to remarks made by Rep. Maxine Waters of California.
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