The guilty verdict in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin “could be a major step forward in America’s march towards justice,” President Biden and Vice President Harris said Tuesday.
That march, they added, has too rarely led to “basic responsibility” for black Americans.
America has a “long history of systemic racism,” they said, calling it a “stain on the soul of the nation.”
A panel of jurors on Tuesday found Chauvin guilty of all three charges in connection with the death of George Floyd in May 2020 – the Minnesota black man who died after being seen on video – handcuffed – saying, “I can’t breathe. as Chauvin knelt on Floyds neck.
JURY FIND CHAUVIN GUILTY AT ALL COSTS IN GEORGE FLOYD’S DEAD
Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests last spring and summer over police brutality against minorities and systemic racism.
Chauvin, 45, was charged with second degree accidental murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter. After the jury announced the verdict, Chauvin’s bail was immediately withdrawn and he was taken away with handcuffed behind his back.
Biden and Harris, after the verdict, took the stage at the White House.
Harris, who spoke first, thanked the jury, and the Floyd family, who said the verdict brought “a sigh of relief” but “can’t take away the pain.”
President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks at the White House in Washington Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. (Associated Press)
“A measure of fairness is not the same as equal fairness,” Harris said. “This statement brings us a step closer and the fact is that we still have work to do. We still have to reform the system.”
Harris added, “America has a long history of systemic racism.”
‘Tore off the blinders’
Biden then took the stage and said that Floyd’s murder was one “in the broad daylight”.
“It ripped off the blinders for the whole world to see the systemic racism,” Biden said. “Systemic racism – a stain on the soul of our nation.”
“The knee to the neck of justice for Black Americans – the deep fear and trauma, the pain, exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every day,” Biden said. The murder of George Floyd sparked a summer of protest that we had not seen since civil rights [era] in the 60s. ”
Biden said the protests “united people of every race and generation in peace and with the intention of saying, ‘Enough, enough, enough of these senseless murders.’ ‘
“This could be a giant step forward in the march towards justice in America,” he said.
BIDEN TELLS THE FLOYD FAMILY ‘NOW THERE’S SOME JUSTICE’ AFTER CHAUVIN GUILTYED
Biden called on officers who “testify against a fellow officer,” said they “needed to be commended,” and the jury who “fulfilled their civic duty in the midst of an extraordinary moment, under extraordinary pressure.”
“For so many, it feels like it was all necessary for the judiciary to give fair, only basic accountability,” said Biden, adding that there are “racial inequalities” in “policing and in our broader criminal justice system.”
Police bill in Congress
Harris, during her comments, pointed to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which she introduced last summer – along with fellow Democrats New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Rep. Karen Bass of California – to ‘hold law enforcement accountable and build trust between law enforcement and communities. ”
“This bill is part of George Floyd’s legacy,” Harris said, urging the Senate to pass the bill “not as a panacea for every problem, but to begin with.”
U.S. Representative Karen Bass, D-Calif., Seen outside the Capitol on June 25, 2020, is one of the sponsors of a police reform bill in Congress. (Associated Press)
Biden, in a reference to the bill, called for Congressional action, saying that the Justice Department leadership was “fully committed to restoring trust between law enforcement officials and the community they have vowed to serve and serve. to protect.”
Meanwhile, Biden said Floyd’s “legacy” should be “one of peace, not violence.”
“Peaceful expression of that legacy is inevitable and appropriate, but violent protest is not,” said Biden. And there are those who will try to exploit the raw emotions of the moment, agitators and extremists who have no interest in social justice, who want to commit violence, destroy property, ignite the flames of hatred and division – they will. to do. everything in their power to stop this country’s march towards racial justice. “
He added, “We cannot make them succeed.”
Biden said this was a time for the country to “come together to unite as Americans.”
“We can never be a safe haven from hatred in America,” said the president.
The House voted along party lines last month to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The broad bill would overhaul standards for police tactics and conduct at the federal level.
Prominent measures include a federal ban on arrest warrants and blockades, restrictions on qualified immunity that protects police from civil lawsuits, a framework to prevent racial profiling, and the establishment of a national registry for allegations of police misconduct.
The bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate, where it is expected to face stiff opposition from GOP lawmakers. The House passed a version of the reform bill last June, just weeks after Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality. Republicans opposed the bill and it later got stuck in the GOP-controlled senate.
Meanwhile, shortly after the verdict was handed down Tuesday afternoon, Biden and Harris called the Floyd family to celebrate the jury’s decision.
‘Day of Justice’
“Nothing will make it all better, but at least there is some justice now,” Biden heard over the speakerphone in a video posted on Twitter by lawyer Ben Crump on Tuesday. ‘We’re going to change now. We’re going to change now. ‘
Harris said during the interview, “This is a day of justice in America.”
Harris added that “in George’s name and memory we will make sure that his legacy is intact and that history will look back at this point and know that this is a turning point.”
“He sacrificed so much and so did your family,” Harris said. “But we believe, with your leadership and, and the president we have in the White House, that we are going to bring some good out of this tragedy, okay?”
Biden, when the jury began the deliberations, said he “prayed that the verdict is the right one.”
Biden spoke to the Floyd family on Monday after the jury was separated, saying he understands what it’s like “to go through a loss.”
“They are a good family and they call for peace and tranquility whatever that judgment may be,” said Biden. I pray that the verdict is the right one, which I believe is overwhelming. I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was separated now. ‘
Biden also called the Floyd family last year – shortly after Floyd’s death, which took place during the 2020 presidential election – and later the then-presidential candidate traveled to Houston to meet with the family and express his condolences. (Floyd lived in Houston before moving to Minneapolis.)
Judge slams Waters
On Monday, the judge in Chauvin’s trial said he wished elected officials would stop referring to the case “especially in a way that is disrespectful to the rule of law,” so that the legal process proceeds as intended.
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Judge Peter Cahill was referring to controversial comments over the weekend by the Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who traveled to Minnesota and urged protesters to “stay on the streets” and “become more confrontational” if Chauvin was found not guilty.
“I’ll tell you that on appeal, Congressman Waters may have given you something that could result in this entire trial being quashed,” Cahill told Chauvin’s attorney.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell criticized the comments of both Biden and Waters.
The longtime Kentucky senator noted on Tuesday afternoon that “sometimes a fair trial is difficult to conduct,” before emphasizing that “it is certainly not helpful for a member of Congress, and even for the president of the US, to go public. while the jury tries to sort out this important case. “