REACTION
‘It must be a movement for change’: CT leaders react to verdict in Chauvin trial
Connecticut leaders reacted swiftly Tuesday afternoon after a verdict was handed down convicting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on all counts in the killing of George Floyd.
Floyd’s killing last May sparked a year of nationwide protests against police brutality and renewed calls for a reckoning with the nation’s history of racial injustice.
Chauvin, who was filmed pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck in a video seen by millions, will be sentenced in eight weeks. A jury
composed of six white people and six Black or mixedrace individuals found Floyd guilty on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after about 10 hours of deliberation, the Associated Press reported.
About one hour after the verdict was handed down, about a dozen people had gathered on the New Haven Green. The group slowly began to grow as time passed.
Meredith Benson, a member of Black Lives Matter New Haven, said she went to the green after hearing the verdict..
“I felt it was a duty of mine to be in community with the community at this time,” she said.
Benson said she had “a moment of joy” from the verdict and a sense of gratitude. As the mother of a 22-year-old Black man, Benson said she has anxiety “every day when he walks out of my house.” As a local activist, she said she tells her son to let her do the advocacy and fighting on his behalf.
“I just want you to come home,” she said she tells him.
Despite feeling a sense of relief, Benson said it only reflects one case.
“There’s so much systemic racism in the structures of our society that are interconnected,” she said. “I hope it can be the beginning of conversations.”
“Today’s guilty verdict confirms for officers everywhere that there will be consequences for their actions,” said Harry Rilling, mayor of Norwalk and the city’s former chief of police. “Good cops should not protect bad officers.”
He offered praise for the officers who testified against Chauvin at his trial — an unusual step that included the Minneapolis chief of police.
“We need officers to speak up more often,” said Rilling. “When I think of all the officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, who continue to serve us honorably day in, day out, this verdict supports them.”
In a statement, Connecticut Police Chiefs Association President Darren Stewart said police “swear an oath to protect and serve their communities,” but Chauvin “did not protect, he did not serve.”
“Throughout our State, Connecticut Police Departments are committed to working with our communities on strategies and programs that respect individual rights, safety and promote community engagement,” said Stewart, who is also Chief of Police in the borough of Stonington.
The decision came as thousands of National Guard and police personnel descended on Minneapolis anticipating rioting and demonstrations following the verdict. In Connecticut, many leaders praised the decision but said it is only the beginning.
“The jury believed what they saw plainly with their eyes. But it should not have come to this,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Twitter. “We must make the decision to respect the lives of people of color,” doing so with actions and not “words and lawn signs,” the senator wrote.
“For far too long, our justice system has offered inconsistent protections to the rampant killings of unarmed Black and brown Americans by police officers,” said state Treasurer Shawn Wooden, who called the guilty verdict “an anomaly.”
“A jury has rightfully found Derek Chauvin responsible for the murder of George Floyd. No ruling from a jury can bring back George Floyd, but I hope that a weight has been lifted for his family. I continue to pray for them as they grieve,” Wooden said.
He compared the video of Chauvin kneeling of Floyd’s neck to the 1955 death of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy who was murdered and dumped into the Tallahatchie River by the husband and brotherin-law of a woman who claimed Till whistled at her.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., echoed that sentiment expressed by many other Connecticut leaders — that true justice would have resulted in Floyd remaining alive. But he also called the verdict “emphatic, necessary accountability.”
“No verdict in a single case can eliminate racism or correct the injustice that continues to afflict our country. There is so much more work to do,” Blumenthal wrote in a tweet.
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus huddled together listening to the Chauvin verdict together in the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon. Hayes stood near the front of the group quietly watching on a laptop computer as each charge was announced.
Some members sighed in relief and stamped their feet as the first guilty count rang out but the group immediately quieted down to listen for the verdict on the other charges. After the announcement, members of the caucus headed outside the Capitol for a news conference with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hailing the verdict and calling for passage of Democrats’ police reform bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Hayes was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. Later, in a prepared statement, Hayes said the verdict released “a flurry of emotions and a collective sigh.”
“Today is a moment of reflection for our entire country — tomorrow we resume the work and recommit ourselves towards building a more just nation,” Hayes said.
In statements, U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, and John Larson, D-1, also called for the bill to be passed into law. The measure would end qualified immunity for law enforcement officers, require federal officers to wear body-cameras and have dash-cameras in their department vehicles and require state and local law enforcement to purchase body-cams. It would also create a nationwide registry on police misconduct, require reporting on use-offorce data, and prohibit federal officers from having sex with someone who is under arrest.
Photos posted to Twitter showed metal railings chained together around the police headquarters in Bridgeport. The site was the scene of multiple protests in response to Floyd’s death last May, including one in which officers used pepper spray on demonstrators at the building’s entrance.
“Today’s verdict delivers justice and, I hope, some peace to George Floyd’s family and community,” U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, wrote on Twitter. But, “the injustice and racism that lead to the disproportionate killing of Black men and women remain,” Himes said, calling for more work to be done.
State Rep. Matt Blumenthal. D-Stamford, called the verdict justice for Floyd’s family. “But we have a lot of work to do to ensure every American, and every community, receives their due: true justice, and equal protection of the law,” the lawmaker wrote on Twitter.
The Connecticut chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said “real justice” would have meant Floyd being able to return home. “Real justice means ending all police violence against Black people, in Connecticut and throughout the U.S.,” the organization said in a tweet.
The protests in the wake of Floyd’s death sparked a conversation and movement toward reform within police departments in Connecticut and across the country.
Stamford Mayor David Martin called the verdict “appropriate” during his Tuesday evening press conference on the COVID-19 pandemic. “While we have a long way to go in achieving equal justice for everyone, this case should reassure us that our country is moving in the right direction, and we can see that when a person is treated wrongly, no matter who they are, that justice can prevail,” he said.