Verdict Reached In Chauvin Trial: Austin Prepares, Leaders React

Austin TX

20 April, 2021

6:22 PM

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A Minneapolis jury has found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts in the Memorial Day 2020 death of Houston native George Floyd. A verdict was reached by a jury in about 10 hours and read Tuesday afternoon. Chauvin was found guilty of both second and third-degree murder, and he was also convicted of second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin faces a max of 75 years in prison under Minnesota law. The sentencing comes almost one year after the death of Floyd, a Black man, who died after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest despite Floyd's protests that he could not breathe. READ THE PATCH STORY: Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty On All Counts Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests demanding racial justice and police reform last summer. Last June, thousands of protesters from across the state marched to the Texas Capitol for more than 10 days to condemn racism and the killings of minorities at the hands of police. George Floyd's murder led to national protests and calls for the enactment of policing and social justice reforms, including here in Austin. We have made a commitment here to holding police officers accountable and to implementing social justice and policing reforms.— Mayor Adler | wear a mask. (@MayorAdler) April 20, 2021 Last month, social justice activists gathered at the Texas Capitol building to urge state legislators to pass police reform bills such as the George Floyd Act, which would ban police choke holds, require deadly force to end "the moment the imminent threat" ends, and limit the use of qualified immunity in police brutality lawsuits, among other measures. The bill was still awaiting action in the Texas Legislature earlier this month. Austin mayor Steve Adler took to Twitter after the verdict on Tuesday stating Floyd's murder sparked calls for the enactment of policing and social justice reforms across the country —especially in Austin. "Last summer's social justice protests in Austin have led to a thoughtful and deliberative process locally aimed at re-imagining how we might achieve even greater levels of public safety for our city," Adler said. "I'm proud to be part of a city that is seriously addressing the hard issues and taking action consistent with what we see, what we are learning, and know to be right and just." One of the reforms include a transparent comprehensive three-stage process in finding Austin's next Chief of Police. More on that story: Assistant Chief Joe Chacon Selected Interim Austin Police Chief The decision to implement a thorough hiring comes after a Feb. 23 letter addressed to city officials after 20 activist groups or individuals said replacing former police chief Brian Manley with a "reform-minded" interim chief would "send a strong message that we are serious about reform if we hope to get the best available applicants for a permanent chief." The Austin Justice Coalition, an activist-led nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing criminal, economic, and social justice in Austin, took to Facebook Tuesday after the verdict. "Today #JUSTICE was served. Today a black life mattered! We have a long way to go in this country, but today there was a glimpse of what we can accomplish together. Today we were reminded, this is why we fight!," the organization said. Today #JUSTICE was served. Today a black life mattered! We have a long way to go in this country, but today there was a...Posted by Austin Justice Coalition on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 Many Austin and Texas organizations were awaiting the verdict before announcing any protests. The racially diverse Minneapolis jury deliberated less than a full day before coming to a decision that concluded the two-week trial, which was closely watched as a bellwether of official responses to police killings of Black people. "On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died faced down on the pavement," state prosecutor Steve Schleicher told jurors in his closing argument Monday. "Nine minutes and 29 seconds. Throughout this time George Floyd struggled to breathe." MORE: President Biden On Chauvin Trial: Praying For 'Right Verdict' "What the defendant did to George Floyd killed him," Schleicher added. "It was ruled a homicide. The defendant is charged with murder." Schleicher praised the "noble" police profession in his closing statement and noted that "this case is called the state of Minnesota versus Derek Chauvin. This is not called the state of Minnesota versus the police." "This is not an anti-police prosecution. It's a pro-police prosecution."Chauvin took "pride over policing," said Schleicher. "George Floyd paid for it with his life." Meanwhile, Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, closed Monday by saying Chauvin's actions on Memorial Day were consistent with what a "reasonable police officer" would do. Chauvin Did Not Testify In Chauvin's trial, state prosecutors and Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, spent 15 days arguing about Chauvin's culpability in Floyd's death. Chauvin himself declined to testify in his own defense, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Floyd's arrest and death — captured on a bystander video — was seen across the globe, sparking outrage and leading to countless protests around the country. In court, Nelson blamed the "hostile" and "growing crowd" for distracting the four officers who were at the scene of Floyd's arrest. He also told jurors that drugs and heart disease, not Chauvin, killed Floyd. MORE TO READ: Read The Jury Instructions Given In The Derek Chauvin Trial A "use of force" expert called on by Nelson to testify said Chauvin's actions on the day of Floyd's death were justified. State prosecutors and their own medical witnesses, however, said Floyd's behavior in his final moments was not consistent with a drug overdose and that his death resulted from Chauvin's restraint, which cut off oxygen to Floyd. The autopsy report from Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner, found fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd's system but listed Floyd's official cause of death as "cardiopulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression." Baker testified that drugs and heart disease played a role in Floyd's death but were not "direct causes." Chauvin restraint of Floyd was "more than Mr. Floyd could take," Baker told the jury.Dr. Martin Tobin, a forensic toxicology expert, testified that Floyd died because of a lack of oxygen. "A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died as a result of what he was subjected to," Tobin told the court. Patch editor William Bornhoft contributed to this report. 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