Black community leaders push for progress after Chauvin verdict Suzanne Phan, KOMO News Reporter
Black community leaders push for progress after Chauvin verdict
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Leaders in the Black community are breathing a sigh of relief because of the Derek Chauvin verdict.
But they said the work is just beginning.
Like many people, Reverend Harriett Walden was on pins and needles until the Chauvin verdict was announced on Tuesday.
“Yeah it was a sigh of relief,” Walden said.
Rev. Walden founded Mothers for Police Accountability more than three decades ago.
“30 years after Rodney King and the first camera, this camera, this recording that the young girl did brought about a conviction. Otherwise it would have been just another story,” Walden said.
Relief : Washington activists, lawmakers react to Derek Chauvin guilty verdict
Many leaders in western Washington said the guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin is a step in the right direction towards racial justice, but there s still more to do. Author: KING 5 Staff Updated: 11:14 PM PDT April 20, 2021
Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in the death of Floyd on May 25, 2020. He is expected to be sentenced in the coming weeks.
Floyd’s death last year sparked global protests over systemic racism and police brutality. Some of the demonstrations turned violent, including in Seattle, with demonstrators setting police cars on fire and damaging downtown businesses.
(Delridge/Roxbury box painted by Desmond Hansen last June)
2:57 PM: Less than an hour ago, a Minneapolis jury delivered its verdict in the trial of the former police officer who killed
George Floyd last May: Guilty on all counts. Here in Seattle, this is just in from the city:
Following the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis, the City of Seattle is providing an update for residents. City of Seattle department leaders have been preparing to allow residents to have the space to grieve and honor the life of George Floyd.
While the City expects community members to grieve and remember the life of Mr. Floyd, the City is also reminding businesses and residents of appropriate steps to take should demonstrations occur. The Seattle Police Department, which has made significant changes over the last year, will be on standby for any peaceful, first-amendment gatherings.
Statements, silence, and protest all characterized the hours after justice was finally rendered.
By
Benjamin Cassidy
4/21/2021 at 9:36am
More protests are expected in the days and weeks to come.
Yesterday brought the verdict weâd all anxiously awaited: Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.
A jury convicted the former Minneapolis police officer on all countsâsecond-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughterâafter he kneeled on Floyd s neck for more than nine minutes last May during an arrest, causing Floyd s death and prompting Black Lives Matter protests across the country. Chauvin s sentencing hearing will be in about eight weeks, at which time heâll potentially face decades in prison (but perhaps as little as 12.5 years).