By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times - Tuesday, April 20, 2021
The guilty verdict in the case of Derek Chauvin won’t derail the Justice Department’s investigation into the former Minneapolis Police officer, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday night.
In a statement reacting to Chauvin being found guilty on all three charges in the death of George Floyd during an arrest last year, Mr. Garland confirmed the probe will continue.
“While the state’s prosecution was successful, I know that nothing can fill the void that the loved ones of George Floyd have felt since his death. The Justice Department has previously announced a federal civil rights investigation into the death of George Floyd. This investigation is ongoing,” Mr. Garland said in a statement.
Crowds Erupt In Cheers In Minneapolis After Guilty Verdict
at 2:26 pm NPR
Cheers erupted from the large crowds gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center Tuesday after the jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the death of George Floyd.
Guilty on all counts: second-degree murder â unintentional; third-degree murder; and second-degree manslaughter. George Floyd! Justice!
The crowd spilled into the streets near the courthouse, with cars honking, demonstrators chanting, waving Black Lives Matter flags.
The vibe was upbeat, wrote one reporter at the scene. It s a celebratory atmosphere, a party in the street, with people grilling burgers, said another. An overall collective breath.
Court TV via AP, Pool
Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis Police Department officer charged with murder in the May 2020 death of George Floyd, has been found guilty of all charges.
After lengthy closing arguments from both sides, the jury began deliberations around 4 PM local time Monday and stayed until 8 PM. Deliberations began at 8 AM Tuesday, with the jury notifying the judge that they’d reached a verdict around 2 PM local time.
The jury considered three charges against Mr. Chauvin: second-degree murder unintentional, while committing a felony; third-degree murder; and second-degree manslaughter.
A conviction of second-degree murder requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Chauvin caused Mr. Floyd’s death while assaulting him, by intentionally applying unlawful force without consent that resulted in substantial bodily harm. It isn’t necessary for the state to prove that Mr. Chauvin intended to inflict substantial bodily harm.
Jury finds former cop Derek Chauvin guilty of all charges for killing George Floyd in Minneapolis phillyvoice.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phillyvoice.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
The trials of former Minneapolis PD Officers Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane were severed from the trial of Derek Chauvin, although the prosecution’s theory of Chauvin’s guilt ended up such that severing them was not appropriate. The evidence that made Chauvin guilty is pretty much the same evidence that should make the other three guilty as well.
None of them had their knee on George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes.
None of them are charged with Second Degree Murder.
But the factual basis used against Derek Chauvin to convict him of Second Degree Murder is no less applicable to all three.