George Floyd Murder Committed by a Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin- The Verdict is Reached Guilty As Charged

 

The incident took place in May 2020 in broad, full daylight in the streets of Minnesota near a convenience store. The police were summoned by the store clerk to report that Floyd had tried to pass a fake $20 dollar bill for use of the purchase.

 

Police Officer Derek Chauvin arrived on the scene took Floyd into custody, put him on the ground, handcuffed him face down-while Officer Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s neck and knelt on it for more than nine minutes. Which resulted in the death of Floyd due to asphyxiation and/or strangulation? This is where the video showed Floyd gasping for air and calling for his mother and was noted as a despicable display of abject police brutality, excessive force, and inhumane treatment perpetrated by Officer Chauvin.

 

The video shocked the world and led to what became one of the largest Civil Rights protests across the United States ever seen in decades. The Chief of Police of Minnesota immediately fired Officer Chauvin and 3 other police officers that were involved in the murder incident of George Floyd

 

This was closely followed-up with Civil Rights protests that created an enormity of ripples of concerns, in that, charges were brought against Officer Chauvin. There were three types’ charges:

·        Second-degree murder, a death that occurs in the course of another crime, in this case, an assault on George Floyd

·        Third-degree murder, the killing of someone when acting without regard for human life but also without intent to kill

·        Second-degree manslaughter, the killing of someone with “culpable negligence”

 

This incident of George Floyd’s death struck a chord that is, and was a reflection; of being depressingly familiar in the annuals of history in the long string of deaths at the hands of police officers in the land. Yet this particular incident was also looked upon as an exceptional case. Notwithstanding the plethora of concerned and sensitive bystanders who just happen to capture videos on the sequence in its entirety.

 

Especially, the capturing of the videos showing officer Chauvin apparent calm indifferent cavalier arrogance, as he slowly squeezed the life out of George Floyd. Thus such attitude displayed by Chauvin quickly brought condemnation, not only from numerous long time critics of  police violence, and ordinary citizens-but it came from law enforcement officers of the rank and file from across the United States, which served to the detriment of Chauvin.

 

Therefore, in the aftermath of days and weeks of prosecutors and defense attorneys during the trial in a court of laws with twelve jurors- a verdict was succinctly reached after 10 hours of deliberation on this 20^th day of April 2021.

 

A particular news headline from “The Atlantic” read: Chauvin Conviction Is The Exception That Proves the Rule. The reasoning for such a headline, it is said, was due to all the preponderance of demonstrations of how difficult the efforts were at accountability remains, even though Chauvin was found guilty of all three counts of the charges.

 

Also the fact that the jurors took barely 10 hours to convict Chauvin on all three counts: Second-degree murder, Third-degree murder, and Second degree manslaughter, offering a quick and decisive verdict in what turned out to be the most watched police murder misconduct cases in many years.

 

It is touted that such speedy results announced this 20^th day of April 2021, is a sign to show how unusual the deliverance of a succinct verdict.  It is further looked upon as an indication as a verdict and victory for justice, and summarily relief for the populist, conservative, liberal politicians, political pundits, and pontificators. Moreover, the Minnesota police, and police law enforcement organization beyond Minnesota.

 

 In the ends such a trial and quick verdict was welcomed for those who had braced for unrest, if Officer Chauvin had been found Not Guilty. In another sense, the trial shed light on the probability of why the courts will remain a challenging venue to hopefully help reform law enforcement in the United States

 

President Biden said, ‘It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see. For so many, it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver just basic accountability”

 

Historically, speaking and being cognizant aware, murder prosecutions for police officers have been extremely ‘rare’, and among the few cases which have been tried in a court of law, those cases had not resulted in many convictions. One of the few  notable convictions in recent years was in 2019, the conviction of Mohamed Noor, another was a Minneapolis police officer, in 2017, involving the shooting death of an unarmed woman. It has noticed that Prosecutors and jurors alike have a history of giving officers broad leeway to act as they see fit in the heat of the moment.

 

However, in the George Floyd case, the prosecuting attorneys were given a very strong hand to play. Albeit, they were privy to be able to call a long succession of vital and key witnesses. Which was inclusive of experts in both medicine and policing. Also, the Chief of Police, who was Chauvin's boss-as he broke with ‘code blue’ and err on the side of common sense and the facts in regards to Chauvin not following proper procedures for the use of excessive force, in the appropriate ways. One other great impact that works in the favor of the prosecuting attorneys was the nine-year-old eyewitness who knew that Chauvin’s approach was killing George Floyd.

 

In addition, LT. Zimmerman, the dept. most senior officer and homicide unit leader described Chauvin’s actions as ‘totally unnecessary’. The prosecuting attorneys also called Firefighter Genevieve Hansen, who was at the scene while she was off duty and she tried to intervene by begging the police to check Floyd’s pulse-but to no avail she was not allowed.

 

The prosecution echoed the final narrative utterance discourse that, :” This is not anti-police prosecution-but it errs more on the side of pro-police prosecution.

 

Given such evidence of proclamation by the prosecution, Chauvin’s attorney Eric J. Nelson faced a very difficult task. Therefore, rather than try to mount a vigorous credible defense of Chauvin’s innocence. Nelson sought to muddy the water a bit by trying to convince the jurors that the other side had not proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

The three other officers that were on the scene still face charges and their trial is still yet to begin a bit later in the year.

 

Steve Braxton, CEO,  Marketplace Consulting & Ministries, Freelance Writer & Blogger, http://blog.feedspot.com/money_making_blog/ sbrax57@gmail.com

Author of non-fiction books, memoirs and poetic stanza