Following three weeks of testimony, a jury in Minneapolis, Minnesota, reported Derek Chauvin liable of all charges in the murder of George Floyd on Tuesday (April 20).
After approximately a day of deliberation, the jury — comprised of six white people, four black people, and two multiracial people — announced the verdict. The former officer has been found guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Following a few delays, including one caused by the settlement reached between Floyd’s family and the City of Minneapolis, the jury was handpicked. The former cop’s murder trial began in late March.
Prosecutors produced evidence and called 38 witnesses to testify in the weeks that followed, along with the young woman who recorded Floyd’s tragic arrest. They contended that Floyd died of asphyxia (lack of oxygen) after the former officer placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, choosing to ignore his cries for help and the demands of bystanders to release him.
On the other hand, Chauvin and his defense team called seven witnesses, including medical experts, to establish that Floyd died as a result of a pre-existing heart condition, adrenaline, and ingestion of a fentanyl and methamphetamine mixture. They introduced that his exposure to carbon monoxide could have been a factor as well.
Floyd was arrested outside a Cup Foods convenience store in May 2020 for purportedly purchasing cigarettes with a counterfeit bill. His experience with Chauvin and responding officers culminated in his heinous assault and murder, which were both managed to capture in now-viral videos of his death. The officer’s killing sparked worldwide protests and calls for Chauvin’s prosecution.
Following today’s (April 20) verdict, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao, the other officers present during Floyd’s shooting, will appear before a judge as co-defendants in their August joint trial. They are being charged with assisting and abetting.
It has been a week since the deadly Capitol Hill insurrection, and the footage is now coming to light. In a clip that surfaced, protestors can be seen hitting a police officer who was lying on the ground on his stomach. A post was shared on Twitter where the protestors were standing at the US Capitol’s side entrance and they pulled the cop down the steps and assaulted him using American flags.
To assist boyfriend of Breonna Taylor- Kenneth Walker- Tyler Perry stepped in. On the night of Taylor’s tragic shooting, Walker was with her as Louisville police raided her apartment and killed her. Now, the Hollywood producer reportedly donated $100,000 to defend Walker since he is going to court and fighting lawsuit filed by an officer for assault and “emotional distress.”
In relation to the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, Tory Lanez pleaded not guilty to felony assault and weapons charges, according to the Los Angeles D.A.’s office announced. Moreover, Lanez did not appear in court. In October, the Canadian singer faces a single felony count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm (personal use of a firearm), carrying a loaded gun, and an unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Moreover, he also faces gun allegations of personally inflicting great bodily injury. Although he denied shooting, conviction will come with over 22 years in prison.
The LAPD is being sued by a sergeant named Joel Sydanmaa, as he was reprimanded for the comments he made on Facebook and Instagram regarding the shooting of Nipsey Hussle and other sensitive topics. A federal lawsuit has been filed by him in U.S. District Court, and he stated that he was reprimanded twice and suspended following his remarks about the death of the late rapper, Muslims, as well as comments on women who made sexual assault allegations against Brett M. Kavanaugh. He claimed that he has “never done anything improper on the job,” but he was in trouble for “expressing his opinions, as a private citizen, while off-duty, on his personal social media accounts, about matters of public concern.
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