Washington Post, by Reis Thebault, Hannah Knowles, Timothy Bella, Abigail Hauslohner, Paulina Villegas, Keith McMillan and Silvia Foster-Frau and Meryl Kornfield, April 20, 2021 at 5:20 p.m. PDT
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd on Tuesday, the conclusion of a closely watched trial that came nearly a year after Floyd’s killing catalyzed an international protest movement for racial justice.
“It’s not enough. We can’t stop here,” President Biden said in remarks at the White House after the conviction. The verdict is a rare example of punishment after a police killing. Advocates embraced it as an overdue measure of accountability but said they will continue fighting for justice and police reform.
“I’m going to miss him, but now I know he’s in history,” Floyd’s brother Terrence Floyd said Tuesday.
Vice President Harris urged senators to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, saying “this work is long overdue” and that racial injustice is “a problem for every American.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said that true justice for Floyd will only come though “real systemic change.”
The teenager who captured the world’s attention with her cellphone footage of Floyd’s arrest last year said she sobbed after jurors returned a guilty verdict for Chauvin.
