Derek Chauvin found guilty of all charges in murder of George Floyd
- Floyd died after Chauvin pinned him to the pavement with his knee, in an incident that sparked mass protests against racism and police brutality
- President Joe Biden said the entire country must confront hatred to ‘change hearts and minds as well as laws and policies’
Chauvin, 45, was immediately led away with his hands cuffed behind his back and could be sent to prison for decades.
The verdict – guilty on all counts, in a clear-cut victory for Floyd’s supporters – set off jubilation tinged with sorrow around the city. Hundreds of people poured into the streets, some running through traffic with banners. Cars blared their horns.
“Today, we are able to breathe again,” Floyd’s younger brother Philonise said at a joyous family news conference where tears streamed down his face as he likened Floyd to the 1955 Mississippi lynching victim Emmett Till, except that this time there were cameras around to show the world what happened.
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Ex-police officer Derek Chauvin found guilty of murdering George Floyd
The jury of six white and six black or multiracial people came back with its verdict after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days.
The now-fired white officer was found guilty as charged of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.