In photos: Tears, hugs, cheers as U.S. reacts to Chauvin guilty verdict
21 April 2021
People across the U.S. rallied into the night Tuesday, cheering, hugging and crying tears of relief after a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd.
Driving the news: After Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, Floyd family lawyer Ben Crump tweeted, "GUILTY! Painfully earned justice has finally arrived for George Floyd’s family. ... Justice for Black America is justice for all of America!"
Celebrations at the verdict in Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. Photog: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
People march in New York City. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Imagesgeo
Georgia state Rep. Erica Thomas hugs her daughter in Atlanta. Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Images
Patience Zelanga is embraced after hearing the verdict in Minneapolis, Minn. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
People in Minneapolis, Minn., blare their horns and cheer after the verdict was read. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Rep. Cori Bush embraces Rep. Ayanna Pressley as members of the Congressional Black Caucus react to the verdict at the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Reps. Karen Bass, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, and caucus chair Rep. Joyce Beatty react to the verdict at the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A sign at the intersection of 38th St. and Chicago Ave. in Minneapolis, Minn. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A woman cries in New York City after hearing the verdict. Photo: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
People celebrate the guilty verdict in Minneapolis, Minn. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
People celebrate the guilty verdict at the intersection of 38th St. and Chicago Ave. in Minneapolis, Minn. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Go deeper:
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.