Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd, found guilty on all counts

(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

By Curtis Brodner and Brian Brant

(MINNEAPOLIS) A Minneapolis jury pronounced Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, guilty on all counts Tuesday after just over three weeks of testimony and deliberation.

Chauvin could face a maximum of 75 years in prison for charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill thanked the jury for what he described as “heavy duty service,” and dismissed them.

The judge revoked Chauvin’s bail and told him to report for sentencing in eight weeks. Chauvin was then handcuffed and taken into custody.

Following Chauvin's sentence, prosecutors will set their attention against the three other officers who took part in the botched arrest, according to Reuters.

Ex-Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, all of whom were fired and arrested after Floyd's murder, face charges for aiding and abetting that are punishable by up to 40 years in prison. Their trial is set to begin on Aug. 23.

Reaction in Minneapolis and other cities around the country was immediate. Demonstrators outside the Hennepin County Government Center, where Chauvin was tried, chanted “All three counts.”

Floyd's death led to massive protests against police violence and civil unrest in over 1,700 American cities.

Tensions over the trial have been exacerbated by former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter’s fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, a Black man, during a traffic stop last week. Other recent high-profile police killings of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who is Mexican American, in Chicago and Robert Douglas Delgado, a white homeless man, in Portland, Oregon, have also led to protests.

The defense’s case hinged on either demonstrating Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck was a reasonable use of force that is allowed by the Minneapolis Police Department, or that Floyd died of causes other than the restraint.

The prosecution called on medical experts, use-of-force experts, eyewitnesses, family members and police officers, including the Minneapolis chief of police. Prosecutors argued that Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck constituted deadly force, that his actions killed Floyd and that he failed to provide medical attention when he was obligated to do so.

"I would not call today’s verdict justice, however, because justice implies true restoration," said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison during a press conference. "But it is accountability, which is the first step toward justice."

Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said in a press conference that President Joe Biden called after Chauvin's conviction to discuss "how we have to use this moment to build on" and saying "we are all a better America today"

Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, said while he felt relieved with the trial's outcome, their efforts for change must continue.

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