A Verdict Reached In Murder Trial of Derek Chauvin
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The jury has reached a verdict at the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
The verdict is to be read late Tuesday afternoon. Floyd died last May after Chauvin, a white officer, pinned his knee on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes in a case that triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.
The jury deliberated over parts of two days in a city on edge against another outbreak of unrest.
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Key Events Since George Floyd's Arrest and Death (AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd's death after his arrest by police officers in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, sparked widespread anger after millions of people saw video of the event.
The four officers at the scene were quickly fired and charged in his death.
The agonizing bystander video shows Floyd repeatedly crying “I can't breathe" and eventually going still as Officer Derek Chauvin presses his knee on Floyd's neck.
The video's release sparked immediate protests and sometimes violent riots nationwide and around the world.
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A Fortified City Awaits The Verdict (AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — More than 3,000 National Guard soldiers, along with police officers, sheriffs deputies and other law enforcement personnel have flooded Minneapolis with a verdict looming in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with murder in the death last year of George Floyd.
But in the city that has come to epitomize America’s debate over police killings, there are places where Minneapolis can feel almost like a police state.
Concrete barriers, chain-link fences and barbed wire now ring parts of downtown Minneapolis, so that authorities can quickly close off the courthouse where the trial is being held if trouble breaks out. It’s become normal to pass convoys of desert-tan armored vehicles on highways, or stumble across armed soldiers at intersections.
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Feds Weight How To Respond After Verdict (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is privately weighing how to handle the upcoming verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, including considering whether President Joe Biden should address the nation.
Aides and officials also tell The Associated Press that the Justice Department is dispatching specially trained community facilitators.
Closing arguments began Monday in Chauvin’s trial with a prosecutor telling jurors that the officer “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as he cried over and over that he couldn’t breathe and finally fell silent.
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Judge In Chauvin's Trial Calls Waters' Comments "Abhorrent" (AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The judge overseeing the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in the death of George Floyd says recent comments by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters are “abhorrent” and says they could lead to a verdict being appealed and overturned.
The California Democrat had joined protesters on Saturday and pressed for protests to escalate if Derek Chauvin was not found guilty on murder charges.
But Judge Peter Cahill showed frustration with the rhetoric shortly after the jury was dismissed Monday to begin deliberations.
Chauvin’s defense attorney had motioned for a mistrial in light of Waters’ comments. Cahill denied the motion.
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