Sacked US police officer Derek Chauvin will likely be sentenced on June 16 for the homicide of African American George Floyd in a case that sparked nationwide anti-racism protests.
The Hennepin County District Court in the Midwestern metropolis of Minneapolis, the place handcuffed Floyd died final May, mentioned in its on-line schedule that the white ex-cop will likely be sentenced at 1:30 pm (1830 GMT).
The 45-year-old ex-officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for greater than 9 minutes faces as much as 40 years in jail after being discovered responsible of all prices Tuesday over the dying of the unarmed man.
The crime was recorded by a bystander whose video shocked the world, triggering mass protests throughout the United States and past, whereas additionally prompting a nationwide reckoning on racial injustice and police brutality.
Floyd, 46, was killed as he lay face down and handcuffed, saying repeatedly “I can’t breathe.” The case prompted some police reforms, but advocates including President Joe Biden say more is needed.
While the Chauvin trial progressed in Minneapolis, the city was rocked by the fatal police shooting of yet another African American, 20-year-old Daunte Wright.
On Wednesday US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department systematically uses excessive force and “engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing,” together with throughout authorized protests.
– ‘We needed a victory’ –
The jury deliberated lower than 11 hours earlier than discovering Chauvin responsible of all three prices in opposition to him: second-degree homicide, third-degree homicide and manslaughter.
A crowd gathered exterior the closely guarded downtown Minneapolis courtroom erupted in cheers, and a few wept tears of aid, when the verdicts have been introduced after a three-week trial that had a complete nation on edge.
Chauvin, who had been free on bail, was put in handcuffs after Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill learn out the unanimous verdicts reached by the racially various, seven-woman, five-man jury.
Ahead of the decision, cities throughout the United States had been braced for potential unrest and National Guard troops have been deployed in Minneapolis.
Floyd was initially arrested on suspicion of a non-violent crime — attempting to cross off a counterfeit $20 invoice. His brother Rodney instructed AFP that Black individuals had been victims of lethal injustice by the hands of US authorities for a whole lot of years.
“We wanted a victory in this case, it’s essential, and we acquired it and hey, we’d truly breathe a little bit bit higher now,” he said.
Three other former police officers involved in Floyd’s arrest are to go on trial later this year.
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