After nationwide outrage over his death, the release of the police dashcam video and nine hours of jury deliberation, Crutcher said she was confident her family would receive justice.
But when it didn’t come, Crutcher said she had to accept a harsh reality.
“You can have video police murders and they still get away with it,” Crutcher said. “The system we live in was never really designed to protect black people.”
Some say they watched lawyers paint the same dark photo of their deceased loved ones as Floyd’s attorneys this week, when they said underlying health problems complicated by drug overdose – not pressure from Chauvin’s knee – killed him.
Gwen Carr, Eric Garner’s mother, traveled to Minneapolis for the first days of the trial to support the Floyd family. She knelt with Floyd’s family, lawyers and supporters outside the Minneapolis courthouse on Monday for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to mark the last moments of his life.
During last week’s trial, it was revealed that Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
Carr told CNN she can relate to the loss of a loved one who repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe” before she died at the hands of the police.
Still, Carr warns that the Floyd family may need to brace themselves for a possible acquittal.
“Don’t think this is going to be a slam dunk, even if you have a video,” Carr said. “I had a video for the whole world to watch and they still haven’t charged any police in my son’s case.”
“I’ve seen African American people murdered so many times and no one gets a conviction,” Floyd said. “We all fight all over America, not just me. You see protesters all over the world. They all stand up for George Floyd. If you can’t get justice for this in America, what can you get justice for?”
Why it’s hard to convict agents
One expert said many of these families never get justice because it is difficult to convict a police officer for murder.
Kenneth Nunn, a professor at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, said prosecutors should be able to prove that a police officer was negligent, unreasonable, and reckless when he or she used lethal force.
Proving this is especially more difficult for black victims, because police work in the United States has historically been racist and goes back to slave patrols who used violence to control the black community, Nunn said.
“I don’t think the average white juror or average white citizen wants to see black people killed by the police,” Nunn said. “But when they see those murders, they weigh that up with ‘well we are concerned about safety in our community, these are the people who are taking care of it, we want to give them some leeway.’ ”
Families say ‘stand strong’
During the first week of the trial, bystanders testified of their horror and fear when they saw Floyd die on May 25, 2020. Their testimony – along with the scorching eyewitness videos – forms the backbone of the state’s cause. But the families of other black men and women murdered by police warned the Floyd family that the defense will try to slander his character.
The Terence Crutcher Foundation released a statement on Monday warning the Floyd family that there would be “gaslighting” by the defense.
“… they will slander George and blame him for his own death, you will have to relive the horrific event over and over again,” the statement said. “But STAND STRONG and know that we are with you and that we stand in solidarity with you while you bear the conscience.”
During the opening statements, attorney Eric Nelson cited Floyd’s use of fentanyl and methamphetamine and his heart problems as the cause of his death. He said that Floyd opposed arrest and that Chauvin received good police training.
“You will learn that Derek Chauvin did exactly what he was trained to do over the course of his 19-year career,” said Nelson. “The use of force is not attractive, but it is a necessary part of police work.”
“No, you can’t piss me off – I’d say I was in a position where I needed to be monitored,” Williams said as he was questioned by Nelson.
A ‘playbook’ that ‘triggers’
Tiffany Crutcher said the opening statements in Chauvin’s trial worried her. It brought her back to the trial of former Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby who was acquitted in the Terence Crutcher death shooting. Defense lawyers, she said, brought up Crutcher’s history of drug addiction at trial.
“This is the exact same playbook they used in my brother’s trial,” she said. “It’s sick and it triggers.”
Valerie Castile, Philando Castile’s mother, said watching the Chauvin trial was “ traumatizing again. ”
Castile said she has little faith in the criminal justice system and empathises with the Floyd family as they watch the trial.
“You really need hard skin to listen to that,” said Castile. “Nothing surprises me with these people in Minnesota, because they’ve been getting away with this for years.”
Jean’s sister Allisa Charles-Findley, however, felt different. Charles-Findley said she believed Guyger deserved a life sentence for the murder of Jean.
“At the age of 26 you cut his life short and you still have that chance to start living?” Charles-Findley said. “You can have children, you can get married, you can do all those things that Botham will never have the opportunity to do.”
Charles-Findley said she does not believe the criminal justice system was created to protect black people. She encouraged the Floyd family to pray and maintain a strong support system during the process.
“We have to protect our own, so I would definitely recommend them not to hope,” she said.