George Floyd murder trial: Relief at Derek Chauvin conviction a sign of long history of police brutality
22 Apr, 2021 02:31 AM
6 minutes to read
George Floyd murder trial: Jury finds Derek Chauvin guilty of murder. Video / Sky News
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The unprecedented conviction of police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder and manslaughter of George Floyd is testament to the hard work of Black Lives Matter organisers and protesters.
It might seem as though someone who spent nine minutes and 29 seconds pressing his weight through his knee into another man s neck – all captured on video – would be a slam dunk for a conviction. But history shows us otherwise.
By Princess WeekesApr 21st, 2021, 11:56 am
Just after the news of the guilty verdict in the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in last year’s killing of George Floyd, a new story of Black death flooded the news. A police officer in Columbus, Ohio, shot a teenage girl, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, Tuesday evening while responding to reports of an attempted stabbing.
There has been a lot of conflicting information about what exactly happened, who called the police, and what Ma’Khia was doing.
One neighbor, identifed as Ira Graham III, said to
CNN: “I can certainly see why the police officer chose to stop her. Now, whether or not less lethal force could have been used, whether or not a Taser could have been chosen instead of a gun I don’t know.”
As Chauvin Verdict Was Read, Police Killed Black Ohio Teen MaâKhia Bryant
Black Lives Matter activists form a line across from a line of police to protest the police shooting of Ma Khia Bryant on April 20, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio.
Stephen Zenner / Getty Images
911 operators received a call at 4:35 pm, reported
The Columbus Dispatch. Police responded, and 10 minutes after that call was made, police shot Bryant four times. She was pronounced dead at 5:21 pm.
Hazel Bryant, MaâKhia Bryantâs aunt, spoke with a number of news outlets about the killing of her niece. She said MaâKhia had made the 911 call and grabbed a knife in self defense after an altercation with someone else at her home left her feeling unsafe.
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