‘Today we are able to breathe again’: George Floyd’s family reacts to Chauvin’s conviction
MINNEAPOLIS – Relatives reacted with relief after Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday in connection with the death of George Floyd last May.
Demonstrators gather outside Cup Foods to celebrate the murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis.
George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd wipes his eyes during a news conference, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, after the verdict was read in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.
People celebrate after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis. Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
London Williams, 31, of Harrisburg, Pa., bursts into tears on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, after hearing that former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Chiara Campbell, from left, Nyasia Thompson and Jaylah Lesesne embrace following a march through downtown Atlanta after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of three counts in the death of George Floyd Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
People react outside Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti’s house after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Los Angeles. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
Hannah Joy Gebresilassie draws up a sign during a gathering and march in Atlanta, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd.
President Joe Biden speaks Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the White House in Washington, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Ingrid Noel, 51, left, weeps on the shoulder of Robert Bolden, at a rally outside the Barclays Center on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in theBrooklyn borough of New York.
People gather inside a convenience store in the Houston neighborhood where George Floyd grew up, to listen to the verdict in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Houston.
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
AniYa A motions as she walks through Times Square in New York, while talking on her cell phone after a Minnesota jury found Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
George Floyd’s name is written on a sidewalk near the intersection of Florence and Normandie Avenues in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd.
A couple dances at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, after the verdict in Minneapolis, in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was announced.
People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
People gather before a march in Atlanta, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd.
Joseph Ravago wipes tears from the eyes of Kamaile Elderts on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, after the verdict in Minneapolis, in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was announced.
Lisa Robinson of Washington, reacts on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, as the guilty verdict in Minneapolis, in the murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was announced.
A Los Angeles Police helicopter hovers as Joyce Robertson, foreground, clenches her fist at the intersection of Florence and Normandie Avenues, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Los Angeles, after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd.
Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, left, and attorney Ben Crump raise their hands in triumph during a news conference after the murder conviction against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis.
Vice President Kamala Harris, accompanied by President Joe Biden, speaks Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the White House in Washington, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
“They’re all saying the same thing, ‘We won’t be able to breathe until you’re able to breathe,’” Floyd’s brother, Philonese Floyd, said at a news conference about two hours after a jury returned a guilty verdict on all three charges against the former Minneapolis police officer. “Today, we are able to breathe again.”
“What a day to be a Floyd,” said another brother, Terrence Floyd, of New York.
Jurors on Tuesday found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 2020 death of George Floyd, 46.
“I was just praying they would find him guilty,” Philonese Floyd told CNN immediately after the verdict. “As an African American, we usually never get justice.”
>> Derek Chauvin trial: Former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder, manslaughter
Earlier, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and his team of prosecutors thanked the Floyd family.
“Over the last year, the family of George Floyd had to relive again and again, the worst day of their lives, when they lost their brother, their father, their friend,” Ellison said at a news conference. “I’m profoundly grateful to them for giving us the time we needed to prosecute this case. They have shown the world what grace and class and courage really look like.”
During the three weeks of the trial, the jury heard from 45 witnesses, including paramedics, police officials, bystanders (some who were minors at the time of Floyd’s death), and loved ones.
The defense was unable to convince the jury that Floyd could have died from his pre-existing heart disease, drug use, or even from carbon monoxide poisoning from the police car’s exhaust.
“Systemic racism is a stain on America’s soul,” President Joe Biden said from the White House on Tuesday evening, adding that the guilty verdict was a “giant step forward in the march towards justice in America.”
>> Derek Chauvin guilty verdict aftermath
Philonese Floyd said he was grateful for the “worldwide support” his family has received.
“We are here and we are not going anywhere,” Philonese Floyd said, referencing the 1955 murder of Emmitt Till. “Justice for George means freedom for all.
“Emmitt Till was the first George Floyd.”
Terrence Floyd said he was feeling “so many emotions.”
“This is history. History is here,” he said, noting that the efforts of Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton were not in vain. “This is monumental.”
“They (Jackson and Sharpton) lived to see this. Their fight wasn’t in vain. It just didn’t happen when they did it. But I happened now,” Terrence Floyd said. “And they’re here to see it.”
Rodney Floyd, the “baby brother” of the siblings, called the verdict “a victory for all of us.”
“There’s no color barrier here,” Rodney Floyd said. “It is a victory for all of us.”
During a brief address to the nation Tuesday night, President Joe Biden said the fight for justice was just beginning.
“I assured the Floyd family that we’re going to continue to fight for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act so I can sign it into law right away,” President Joe Biden said from the White House on Tuesday night.
“We’re going to stay at it until we get it done,” Biden told the Floyd family in a telephone call shortly after the verdict was announced.
