Argus Explains the Derek Chauvin Verdict

A memorial to George Floyd in Minneapolis. Photo: Fibonacci Blue

By JADA PRIMUS

After nearly a year of protests, riots, and civil unrest, former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on April 20, 2021, of two counts of murder and one of manslaughter for killing George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in Minneapolis, Miinnesota. Later this month, a judge will decide how long Chauvin must spend in prison.

After Floyd made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill at Cup Foods, a small grocery store, on May 25, 2020, an employee called the police. Bodycam footage showed Floyd appearing to have a panic attack and struggling with the first officers on the scene, especially when they tried to place him in the back of a police car. Chauvin then arrived, and during the arrest, knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. This resulted in Floyd’s death, coroners concluded.

During the time Chauvin restrained Floyd with his knee, Floyd made pleas for help, saying, “My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts,” “Don't kill me," “I can’t breathe,” and calling for his mother. Floyd’s body eventually went limp under Chauvin’s knee, and he was pronounced dead at the Hennepin County Medical Center emergency room. The 8 minutes and 46 seconds of the knee hold were captured on cell phone video by Darnella Frazier, a witness.

Floyd's death sparked months of protests and riots across the world as activists argued that the events were just another example of police officers brutalizing black people. According to the Washington Post’s Fatal Force database, American police officers shot and killed 55 unarmed suspects in 2020, 18 of whom were African American. Hundreds of thousands of people, often organized by Black Lives Matter, took to the streets with calls for defunding the police and for the prosecution of Chauvin.

Chauvin's trial began on March 8, 2021. His defense lawyer, Eric J. Nelson, argued that Chauvin’s actions were reasonable when taken in the context of Floyd’s earlier resistance during the arrest. Floyd was also found to have the drugs fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system.

Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that Chauvin's actions were cruel and that Floyd had complied with Chauvin's commands, offering Frazier’s cell phone video for proof. The prosecution also showed photos of Floyd with his family and as a child in an attempt to humanize him.

The defense argued that Floyd's death was in part by drug overdose, as he had recently taken fentanyl -- a highly dangerous drug similar to heroin and oxycontin. However, blood tests conducted as part of Floyd's autopsy revealed 11 nanograms per milliliter of fentanyl present, which, according to experts, wasn’t enough to be fatal. Two sets of autopsies determined that Floyd's death was a homicide caused by Chauvin’s knee hold ("cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression”).

Throughout the case, there were a total of 45 testimonies. Frazier, now 18 years old, said she felt haunted from witnessing the event. Another testimony came from Dr. Martin Tobin, a physician who specializes in the respiratory system, who argued that any normal person would have died if they were in the situation Floyd was in, and refused the defense's argument that carbon monoxide from a car exhaust pipe may have contributed to Floyd's death. Other testimonies came from people such as Floyd's girlfriend, paramedics, and the Minneapolis police chief.

After a short deliberation, the jury, which was about half white and half black, convicted Chauvin of all three counts: second-degree unintentional felony murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

The classifications for murders vary by state, but in Minnesota, where Chauvin's trial took place, second-degree manslaughter is killing based on negligence, meaning that someone takes a large risk with someone else's life. Third-degree murder is defined as harming another person intentionally, but not expecting them to die.

The most serious of the charges, second-degree unintentional felony murder, is defined as the unpremeditated (unplanned) killing of someone while committing or trying to commit a felony, which in this case was felony third-degree assault. Basically, the jury said that Chauvin was committing a serious crime on purpose by holding his knee on Floyd’s neck, not just detaining him as “part of the job,” and that this intentional crime led to an accidental murder.

As with any high-profile case, there will always be controversies. Some argue that the trial was rushed to satisfy protestors and prevent riots. This controversy was sparked further after Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters urged protestors to get “more confrontational" if Chauvin was not convicted. Critics have argued that Waters was inciting violence and encouraging riots, which the congresswoman denied.

 In May, Chauvin's legal team called for a retrial. They argued that he did not get a fair trial as there were errors made by the judge, witness intimidation, and that the process was not impartial due to the amount of publicity the case had. Experts have stated that even if there is a retrial, it is highly unlikely that the jury's decision would change.

Currently, Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement for his protection at the Oak Park Heights state prison and is due to be sentenced on June 25. Based on state laws, he could face up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder, and up to 10 years for manslaughter. However, his lack of a previous criminal record will most likely result in easier sentencing.