“The conviction in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin could be a huge step forward in the march to justice in America,” President Biden and Vice President Harris said on Tuesday.
The march, they added, too seldom provided ‘basic accountability’ to black Americans.
America has a “long history of systemic racism,” they said, calling it a “stain on the soul of the country.”
A panel of jurors found Chauvin guilty on Tuesday on all three charges in connection with the death of George Floyd in May 2020 – the Black man in Minnesota who died after being seen on video – and said ‘I can not breathe as Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.
JURY FINDS CHAUVIN GUILTY AT ALL COSTS IN GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH
Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests last spring and summer over police brutality against minorities and systemic racism.
Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder and second-degree murder. After the jury announced the verdict, Chauvin’s bail was immediately revoked and he was led away handcuffed behind his back.
Biden and Harris took the podium in the White House after the verdict.
Harris spoke for the first time and thanked the jury and the Floyd family, saying the verdict brings a sigh of relief, but that he cannot take away the pain.
President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, will speak at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. (Associated Press)
“A measure of justice is not the same as equal justice,” Harris said. “This ruling brings us one step closer and the fact is that we still have work to do. We still have to reform the system.”
Harris added: “America has a long history of systemic racism.”
‘The blinds ripped off’
Biden then takes the podium and says Floyd’s murder is one “in the full light of day.”
“It has ripped the blinds out of the whole world to see the systemic racism,” Biden said. “Systemic racism – a stain on the soul of our country.”
“The knee on the neck of justice for black Americans – deep fear and trauma, the pain, exhaustion that black and colored Americans experience every day,” Biden said. ‘The murder of George Floyd has launched a summer of protests we have not seen since civil rights [era] in the 60s. ‘
Biden said the protests united people of every race and generation in peace and with the aim of saying, “Enough, enough, enough of these senseless killings.”
“It could be a huge step forward in the march for justice in America,” he said.
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Biden sued officers for “testifying against a fellow officer and saying they ‘should be praised,’ and the jury” performing their civil duty under extraordinary pressure in the midst of an extraordinary moment. ”
“For so many, it feels like it was all necessary to render the justice system fair, just basic accountability,” Biden said, adding that “racial differences” exist in “policing and in our criminal justice system wider.”
Police bill in Congress
In her remarks, Harris pointed to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which she co-founded last summer with fellow Democrat Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Representative Karen Bass of California to ‘hold law enforcement accountable and build trust between law enforcers and communities. ‘
“This bill is part of George Floyd’s legacy,” Harris said, urging the Senate to pass the bill “not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start.”
U.S. Representative Karen Bass, D-California, who was spotted outside the U.S. Capitol on June 25, 2020, is among the sponsors of a congressional police reform bill. (Associated Press)
While referring to the bill, Biden called for congressional action, saying that the leadership of the Department of Justice ‘is fully committed to restoring trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to serve and serve’. protect.’
Meanwhile, Biden said Floyd’s ‘legacy’ should be ‘one of peace, not violence’.
“Peaceful expression of the legacy is inevitable and appropriate, but violent protest is not,” Biden said. “And there are those who are trying to exploit the raw emotions of the moment, rioters and extremists who have no interest in social justice, who are trying to use violence, destroy property, ignite the flames of hatred and division. – who will do everything in their power to stop the march to this country towards racial justice. ‘
He added: “We can not allow them to succeed.”
Biden said it was a time for the country to ‘come together to unite as Americans’.
“We can never be a safe haven in America,” the president said.
The House voted according to party lines last month to approve the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The wide-ranging bill will review standards for political tactics and conduct at the federal level.
Prominent measures include a federal ban on warrants and beatings without beating, restrictions on qualified immunity that protects police from civil lawsuits, a framework to prevent racial profiling, and the establishment of a national registry on allegations of police misconduct.
The bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate, where there is expected to be fierce opposition from GOP legislators. The House passed a version of the reform bill earlier in June, a few weeks after Floyd’s death protested nationwide against police brutality. Republicans opposed the bill and it later got stuck in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Meanwhile, shortly after the verdict was delivered Tuesday afternoon, Biden and Harris called the Floyd family to celebrate the jury’s decision.
‘Day of Justice’
“Nothing is going to make it all better, but at least there is some justice now,” Biden said on a speakerphone in a video posted on Twitter by attorney Ben Crump on Tuesday. “We are going to start changing now. We are going to start changing now.”
Harris said during the call: “This is a day of justice in America.”
Harris added that “in George’s name and memory we are going to make sure that his legacy is in tact and that history will look back on this moment and know that it is a moment of inflection.”
“He had to sacrifice so much and so did your family,” Harris said. “But we believe with your leadership and and the president we have in the White House, that we are going to bring something good out of this tragedy, OK?”
While the jury began deliberations, Biden said he “prays that the verdict is the correct verdict”.
Biden spoke to the Floyd family Monday after the jury was sequestered, saying he understands what it is like to “go through loss.”
“They are a good family, and they ask for peace and quiet, no matter what the verdict is,” Biden said. ‘I pray that the verdict in my opinion is the right verdict, which I think is overwhelming. I would not say that unless the jury is now sequestered. ‘
Biden also called the Floyd family last year – shortly after Floyd’s death, which took place during the 2020 presidential election campaign – and later the then presidential candidate traveled to Houston to meet with the family and express their condolences. (Floyd lived in Houston before moving to Minneapolis.)
Judge hits Waters
On Monday, the judge at the Chauvin trial said he wished elected officials would stop referring the case “especially in a way that is disrespectful to the rule of law” to have the lawsuits unfold as intended.
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Judge Peter Cahill at the weekend referred to controversial comments by Democratic Representative Maxine Waters of California, who traveled to Minnesota and urged protesters there to “stay on the streets” and “become more confrontational” if Chauvin is not convicted. .
“I will inform you that Congresswoman Waters has given you on appeal something that could lead to the entire trial being overturned,” Cahill told Chauvin’s attorney.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell criticized the comments from both Biden and Waters.
The longtime senator from Kentucky remarked on Tuesday afternoon that ‘sometimes a fair trial is difficult to conduct’ before emphasizing that ‘it is certainly not useful to a member of Congress, and even the president of the USA seems to in public weighs. , while the jury tries to sort out this important case. ‘