There’s still more work to be done. That was the main sentiment St. Louis leaders expressed after a Minneapolis jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts in the killing of George Perry Floyd Jr. on May 25.
The verdict was read just after 4 p.m. Tuesday after the three-week trial. Sequestered jurors began deliberating Monday morning after closing arguments Friday.
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. He was taken into custody directly after the reading of the verdict and will be sentenced on June 15.
Chauvin faces a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, but because he has no previous criminal history, the sentencing recommendation is 12.5 years.
About 50 people gathered in the intersection of Market Street and Tucker Boulevard in downtown St. Louis after the verdict was read — singing protest chants and talking about how the fight for justice continues.
Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, attended the demonstration and spoke to the crowd.
“This is our moment, not to let off the gas pedal — we gotta keep going,” he said. “We gotta keep pushing, we gotta come up when they trying to pass bills against protestors. Right? Because it’s not one injustice, it’s so many injustices that they are trying to do — on the local level, on the state level and on the federal level.”
Newly-inaugurated Mayor Tishaura Jones extended her condolences to the family of George Floyd.
“Today, justice has been served in George Floyd’s murder,” she wrote in a statement. “I am relieved to see that we are finally seeing the consequences for when our officers, who are sworn to protect and serve the people, violate the trust of those people. We will not become complacent, though, as we have plenty of work to do to continue transforming the Department of Public Safety to rebuild the relationship with our communities.”
The verdict came shortly after Jones was inaugurated on Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, tweeted that the verdict could be a small step in holding police accountable.
“Our hope is that this verdict will be a small step towards accountability,” she wrote. “But that’s just about accountability, not justice. For us, justice would be George Floyd alive today.”
Adding in a later statement, Bush wrote, in part: “Listening to the verdict today, I wanted to be overjoyed. But the truth is we should not have to wait with bated breath to find out whether accountability will be served.”
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner wrote that the country needs to thank the people of Minneapolis who took out their phones during Floyd’s deadly police encounter and then continued to pursue justice after his death
“Our system relies on everyone doing their part if we truly want justice!” Gardner wrote. “These citizens participated in the trial process by serving on the jury and as police officers testifying.…While this won’t bring Mr. George Floyd back to his loved ones, may his tragic and senseless death be an awakening to show the world that police brutality is unacceptable, and officers will be held accountable throughout our nation.”
Rev. Darryl Gray tweeted before the verdict was read that activist groups planned to gather regardless of the outcome beginning at 5:30 p.m. in front of City Hall, where Mayor Tishaura Jones was inaugurated just hours earlier in the day.
After the verdict, he cautioned people to not see this as a cause for celebration.
“I don’t want us to see this as a celebration,” he said. “I want us to see this as a continuation. How do you celebrate? How do you mourn for George Floyd and be compassionate for his family and then look into this policeman’s face and see his family — their world now being torn apart because of this act. You’ve got this one act that has literally destroyed not just George Floyd’s family but Derek’s family, too.”
He added: “I don’t want us to feel so jubilant that we become what we despise, and that is people who have no heart. We’ve got to have a heart for humanity. I am glad that justice kept its eyes open and saw this for what it was.”
Kayla Reed, executive director of Action St. Louis, said these moments remind her how important organizing is in the work to transform public safety into a system that prevents loss of life.
“I think that this is an individual case of accountability, and in these moments we always want to center those directly impacted, the family of George Floyd,” she said. “We also know this moment doesn’t equate to justice – justice would be George Floyd being alive and able to raise his daughter.”
The Ethical Society of Police released a statement, calling for everyone to continue the fight for systemic change.
“The guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial was just a pebble in the ocean,” they wrote. “There must be law enforcement reform to prevent tragic death like this from continuing to happen. We as minorities are growing tired of being victims at the hand of rough law enforcement officers. We are tired of being victims of systemic prejudice and racism against us.”
