By Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin, on Tuesday, was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in the deadly arrest of George Floyd.
The Hennepin County Court sitting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, finally reached a verdict in the highly anticipated murder case.
The 12-member jury found Chauvin, 45, criminally liable in Floyd’s death last year after considering three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him by the prosecution.
In a confrontation captured on video, Chauvin, who is white, pushed his knee into the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.
He and three fellow officers arrested Floyd, who was accused of using a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a grocery store.
The video of the incident in which Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” went viral and sparked major protests within and outside the US — notably the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin and three other officers the day after Floyd’s arrest. The three others are due to face trial later this year on aiding-and-abetting charges in Floyd’s death.
The deliberations began after three weeks of testimony in one of the most closely watched cases of this era.
The court also revoked Chauvin’s bail and ordered that the ex-police officer be remanded in custody pending sentencing in eight weeks time.
