Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts Tuesday for causing George Floyd’s death, a verdict that could send the disgraced former Minneapolis police officer to prison for the rest of his life, NBC News reported.
His eyes darted left and right over his light blue surgical mask as Judge Peter Cahill read the jury’s verdict, but he betrayed little else in the way of emotion.
Chauvin, who was convicted of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, stood up quickly after the judge ordered his bail revoked and compliantly placed his hands to be handcuffed before he was led out of the courtroom. He faces up to 75 years in prison when he returns for sentencing in eight weeks.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson followed Chauvin out of the courtroom without comment. Chauvin was booked into the Oak Park Heights state prison. He arrived at 4:55 p.m.
Conviction on the top count of second-degree murder means the 12 jurors unanimously agreed that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death during the commission of a felony assault. The jury rejected the defense claim that there might have been other medical reasons Floyd died, saying Chauvin killed him, even if unintentionally, by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes.
“Today, we are able to breathe again,” Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd said afterward.
Outside the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis, which had been enclosed with razor wire, the crowd erupted into cheers when word of the verdict filtered out. Many said they feared the jury would not convict a white police officer of killing Floyd, who was Black.
“All three counts! All three counts!” the crowd chanted as cars honked and people danced on the blocked off streets, some of them waving Black Lives Matter flags and carrying signs that said “Justice for George Floyd.”
Jennifer Ramirez, 24, who lives in Minneapolis, headed to the Hennepin County Government Center before the verdict was announced.
“I hope Chauvin gets as much time in prison as possible, because he deserves it,” Ramirez said as she sat across the street, her mother and her brother by her side. “Maybe it will set a precedent for other police in the area and maybe nationwide. Hopefully this leads to change.”
Another celebration was underway a few miles away outside Cup Foods, the store where Chauvin killed Floyd by pinning his neck to the pavement with his knee for 9½ minutes on May 25. Video of the tragedy, which captured Floyd crying out “I can’t breathe” over and over again, sparked nationwide outrage and some of the biggest civil rights demonstrations in decades.
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