Court. It is a moment that the nation and many throughout the world have been waiting for. Chauvin is facing seconddegree unintentional murder, thirddegree murder and seconddegree manslaughter charges, the most serious charges is seconddegree unintentional murder and that carries a maxim sentence of 40 years in misson. Lets go straight to cnns sara sidner hive outside the courthouse in minnesota. Sara, you just spoke with George Floyds brother. I cant imagine what they are feeling right now, but give us an idea. They are nervous, i imagine. You know, its really interesting, jake, because the floyd family, particularly philonise and his brother terrance, they are really calm dudes, like they really have a sense of calm, and i asked them how that is possible in a time like this when everyone else including myself is on tinder hooks and they said we just have faith and believe justice will be served. I called Philonise Floyd just as i heard that the verdict had been reached. He had not heard that the verdict had been reached. He says, you know, okay. What is it . And i said i do not know what the verdict, is and i felt a bit bad being the one to tell him. You know, his response was its going to be all right. He says, look. I realize that this is an historic case in america, but for us it is deeply personal, a deeply personal case. They lost he lost a brother, terrance lost a brother, rodney lost a brother. People lost a cousin and an uncle and a friend, and so they are extremely calm while everyone else around here is extremely nervous. You have this jury of 12 people. Half of the jury are people of color. There are four black men and there are two mixed race people on this jury, and there are six other jurors, the other half of the jurors are caucasian. They worked for a good nine hours to deliberate. They went to deliberate at 4 00 yesterday, and they deliberated for four hours yesterday and came back and deliberated for about five hours before we heard that that they had reached a verdict. Whats really i think important in this case is that a hung jury would have been very difficult and devastating to a lot of people, and i think, you know, having a decision is very important for everyone that has been involved with this, because as you know with a hung jury, it would mean that would you have to, if the prosecution decided, he would have to do this all over again with all 45 potential witnesses and the floyd family and, you know, potentially a member of the chauvin family going back over all of these things and how there would be a brandnew jury going back over all of this again. Thats not going to happen. We dont know whats going to happen. Certainly youre not going have a hung jury after ten hours, and the fact that this decision has been reached so quickly, we do not know what the verdict is, and we cannot assert what the verdict is in any way. We will hear it from the jury themselves in the courtroom, but generally speaking, sara you and i have gone through this a number of times, this would suggest an easy decision whether its an easy decision of not guilty or an easy decision of guilt. Reporter you hit the nail on the head, jake. They did not ask a single question because all of the media would have known. We were told that if they were to ask a question, they would have asked a question via zoom to the court and the court if they thought it was appropriate would have given them a response. Not a single question. Weve not learned of a single question that any of the jurors have asked if in this case so this will be a decisive decision, if you will, from this juror from these jurors of 12 people. You know that we started with 14 because we had two alternate jurors. They were dismissed when this jury went to deliberate yesterday at 4 00 p. M. Local time, and so we have a decision. We do not know. They can do one charge, and they can decide on one or they can decide all three. He can be acquitted of all three or he could be he can be found guilty of all three or just one or two, so it the system here is different than some other places in the country and so this is one of those moments where we all just have to sit back and we have to wait for the foreperson when asked what their decision is in court. We have to wait for that person to tell us what these 12 people have decided in the case involving a former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of george floyd. And let us just remind our viewers tuning in throughout the world of the 12 people on the jury. We know that six of them are white, four of them are black or africanamerican and two of them are bior multiracial and thats according to the court, so so whatever the conclusion is, it is one that all 12 of these individuals of a diverse jury reached very quickly. Absolutely. It is a diverse jury. Its even more diverse than if you look at the state and at the county, but more reflective of minneapolis itself. You know the jury pool is a lot larger than just the city, so this is a diverse jury. It is both men and women. You have black folks. You have white folks and you have multiracial folks on this jury. They have been paying attention too, and this is a jury that was writing notes and listening directly at the witnesses and paying attention to the opening and closing arguments and they have been attentive and now they have a decision. Xwlets to Cnns Omar Jimenez in George Floyd Square in minneapolis. Thats what they call the area of the city where george floyd died. Omar, it must be an incredibly somber scene there. Reporter it is, jake. Weve been talking to people here throughout the day about what this moment means. Of course, we were talking to them before we even knew that a verdict was in, and for many of them the Common Thread is that what happened to george floyd is not an end all be all. No matter what the verdict is, that this needs to be the beginning of a longterm practice of treating black people with respect, and this is really what its all about. When you think about the verdict and we get all caught up in all the Legal Proceedings and the trial and the legalize and what one witness said versus another. What it comes down to is this spot where george floyd laid under the knee of Derek Chauvin for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, multiple minutes of which he was unconscious for back in may of 2020. Its become a makeshift memorial. It started at this cup foods here on the left, of course, with that call over a potential fraudulent 20 bill where we know the cashier who initially wrestled with reporting it still feels guilt over that decision thinking to himself as we found out in court what if i hadnt called . Will what if i had just paid it out of my own pocket . Could i have stopped all of this . And then youre reminded of the stakes in this verdict. When you come over to the central part of george floyd park. You see the fist raised in the air, the statue erected here but you also see the faces of george floyd as you come around the circumstance. You see the faiths tamir rice and you see the face of Breonna Taylor next to the sign of black lives matter, and you see the face of Daunte Wright which, of course, just happened over the course of this past week, so those are the stakes that people feel are at play, that its not just about george floyd. Its about so many people that have died in many cases at the hands of police. Jake . And im reminded i think what will smith, that racism is not getting worse. Its just getting filmed. One can only imagine how this all would have played out had there not been a preponderance of smart phones in the vicinity. Omar jimenez, well come back to you in a bit. Were told that Derek Chauvin, the defendant, is now in the courthouse. We dont have live pictures of that yet for you, but well bring them to you as we do, as the jury is preparing to announce their decision, their verdict. Lets bring in cnn anchor don lemon. Don, only about ten hours of deliberations suggesting that for this jury of six white people, four africanamericans, two multiracial people, that it was a relatively easy decision as these things go. Whats your reaction . Well, we dont know. I mean, one would tend to think with about ten, step and a half hours, it was four hours yesterday and six and a half hours today that it was a decision that they reached unanimously and that it was a relatively easy decision, but, jake, as you know, listen. Im old enough to have been in the newsroom for rodney king and for o. J. Simpson and for george zimmerman, and many times these things dont turn out the way you think they do just because, you know, o. J. Simpson was four hours that they deliberated even though the trial went on for 11 months. So how am i feeling about this . Quite frank lit way most americans are feeling about it, angst. Theres anxiety here. Im anxious about it. Theres a sense of dread as well because i dont know whats going to happen after the verdict is rendered and after it is read, and, you know, as i was getting ready to come here and even earlier today people were texting me and calling me and saying im really nervous about this. Im really nervous about thrngs especially people of color, jake, because of what this means for the entire country and also what it means for the value of black life in this country and state violence against people of color. America is on trial here, and i think that this verdict will indicate just how much of a value that the system, right, that america places on black people. Jake, you know, i sat here weve been sitting here for almost a year. It was the 25th of may, memorial day last year, when we all saw that horrific videotape play out of george floyd, if not that day then soon after, and we were all sitting in our homes with nowhere to go because we couldnt, because we were in the middle of a deadly pandemic and a quarantine, and we were so open an so vulnerable, and we saw that and i think to a person, most people in this country were horrified by that, and many didnt know or understand how many people of color are treated by Law Enforcement in this country, and george floyd laying there on that pavement with the life being snuffed out of him was evidence in realtime of that treatment, and so here we are almost a year later, and there is a verdict, and it is in many ways a year has gone quickly, and it seems like its gone at a snails pace, but here we are and america is on trial, amend were going to find out what the verdict is in just moments. We shall see what the value of a black life is. This is happening very quickly. You note that o. J. Simpson was acquitted in four hours. George zimmerman was also acquitted in 16 hours, also relatively quickly. We should note the big differences obviously in those cases, beyond the racial dynamics being very different in aural of them, the murders of Trayvon Martin and the murders of all the other individuals that weve been talking about in the last year generally speaking with the only exception being that i can think of eric garner, none of them were on tape. This was filmed, all nine and a half minutes of former officer chauvins knee on George Floyds neck. This was filmed. We all saw it. Yeah. We all saw it, but if you had been watching i had been glued to the coverage, and if youve been watching it, the defense has been trying to make us is not believe what we have seen with our own eyes and what we heard at least 27 times of george floyd saying i cant breathe, if not more, so they are trying to convince us that, you know, that reality is not reality. Jake, as you know, sadly, after the last five years, we live in a posttruth, postreality world, where people depending on your beliefs or who you believe in or who you trust, thats what youre going to believe regardless of what the evidence says so theres a concern there, especially among people of color, especially among people who look like me. I must be honest. When everyone says of course theres no way that Derek Chauvin will be acquitted. Theres no way that they are not going that hes not going to be guilty of the most major charge and then people of color go oh, yeah, theres a way because weve seen it before, and we thought that the evidence was conclusive, but, still, i know what youre saying, but but, still, even in the videotape people are if you look jake, if you look at what the polling shows about what people thought about george floyd and Derek Chauvin right after this happened when it happened, many more people believed that george floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, and if you look at the polling now, they are not so sure about it. But the polling doesnt matter. What matter is what the opinions of the 12 individuals on the jury think. And they are made up of people from the American Public just as people who are polled are made up of people from the American Public and many of the people who have been following this very closely. And my point is the polling doesnt matter. All that matters is the 12 people. Right. And the point im trying to make is, and i understand your understand your skepticism and i feel it and i their and its not new to me, this concept, but if you talked about the defense and what they did, and the defense did what Defense Attorneys do. They try to change the subject. Thats what they are supposed to do, yeah. Throw as much on the wall and see what sticks, and we all talked or the last few weeks about this, that all he needed to do, the defense attorney who by the way mislead the jury and was reprimanded by the judge or at least corrected by the judge of misleading the jury in terms of what was required in terms of cause of death. Yeah. But all the defense attorney needed to do was to convince one person because thats because you need unanimity on the jury. My point is there is no hung jury. Its unanimous within ten hours, so, you know, that strategy, if in fact that was the central artery. All i need to do is convince one person with this. Yeah. Yeah. Defense attorneys gaslight. Thats what they do and thats their job. This trial is not new in that sense. Prosecution in Different Cases they gaslight, too, but my point is that didnt work. It was uninameity, and like i think we all suspect what the verdict is going to be. We dont know, but we suspect what its going to be because itsees either an easy decision that chauvin is not guilty or an easy decision that chauvin is guilt, right . Yeah. Thats where the math comes down reading the tea leaves, and its a diverse jury. As we look at those live pictures right now, 3 16 p. M. Central time in minneapolis. Heres the thing. Jake, yes. I think youre right, but what im speaking to is we dont know, and youre right. What it indicates in this short a period of time it would tend to go one way or the other, but, look, this latter part of my career, the last couple of years. I i dont want to be in the prediction business anymore. Right. Because i dont know, but what im saying is that jurors are made up of the American Public. They are people as well, and they can be convinced otherwise, so everything we may be watching it and we may be absorbing it and thinking, well, there hes no way. Im just saying that ive said and many people have said before theres no way. Now i think youre right in your analysis and you will probably be right, but im just saying as my grandma would say hold your horses because you just dont know. No, i hear you. Right now. And youre youre not the only skeptic ive talked to in the last hour, believe me. On my way up here in talking to producers and a lot of people who dont know. Who dont know and feel like these are people who generally and people interpret that videotape very differently, jake. There are people who when they say the videotape saying, you know, he was not complying and they think that what he did before those 9 minutes and 29 seconds actually matters as well. Any legal person will tell you what matters is the 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Thats what matters. Yeah. But, again, we shall see. We shall see indeed, don lemon. I want to bring in Anderson Cooper and his panel, and im told, anderson, that George Floyds brother Philonise Floyd is going to be in the courtroom for the reading of the verdict. Anderson . Jake, don, thanks very much. Well come back to you very quickly. I want to talk to our team here. Legal and otherwise here in new york. Laura coates, just your quick thoughts right now as we await this verdict. Thank goodness theres not had a hung jury because the idea of there being a hung jury. Didnt have a single jury question, no confusion about any of the charges. Unanimity and what it actually holds were all on bated breath. What does that mean . I was taught a moment a jury verdict comes down is the most serious and solemn moment in our democracy. I was taught that the as a prosecutor. When a verdict comes down i was tout as a prosecutor you dont move. You dont celebrate. You dont sulk, and you have to be mindful of who is there. We heard Philonise Floyd will be there. Fat family members of the deceased are there. The defendant has his rights. Hes there, show this is sort of the heist our criminal justice process, and i was taught to have very deep respect for that moment. Van jones . Outside of that court roommate biggest Mass Movement for human rights in the history our species is waiting. This is the biggest millions and millions of people not just in the United States, around the world march, people tried to move heaven and earth to get justice here. Well see if it worked. Chief rams . Well, i guess like everyone else, im you know, im on the edge of my seat waiting for a verdict, but regardless of where this comes out, guilty, acquittal. This is a moment we cant waste. There has to be reform, and we cant take a deep breath and say oh, its over. This is just one case. Thats all it is. When it comes down to it, its tragic but just one case. Theres a lot that still needs to be done, and i hope we dont lose sight that have. You think back in history of all the people who have been killed, of all the people who have been fired from jobs, of all the injustices, perpetrated against minority communities in this country when there were no cameras or where there was no National Audience watching and waiting and how history turns and of the story, the injustices can remain the same. Well see where the outcome is this time. Absolutely. And immitt tills family is watching alongside George Floyds. In other words, you have 60plus years of this type of brutality. Emmett till didnt get justice. Rodney king didnt get justice. We can give a whole list of people who didnt get justice. Today if this can happen in america and the whole world sees it and there is no justice, its a very, very devastating comment on how far we still have to go in this country. Lets talk about laura. I was glad you brought up what happened to emmett till. Thats such a precursor that that mother wanted the world to see what they did to her boy. They wanted the world to see. There werent the cameras, the video of that horror and that atrocity, and now youve got all this time later a man who called out for his mother and the world was able to see what happened to her boy, and now and for those who dont know the story of emmett till. His mother wanted them to see, literally see his body in the casket. She wanted everyone to see with an open casket the way in which they had diabolically tortured a 14yearold child and the way in which that particular time in American History treated a young black child, and the atrocity of it, the anvil in his case was more than figurative. It was the idea of now the anvil and the weight of American History on black america, but idea here that the world has seen, and remember how the prosecution ended the case. You can believe your eyes. You can believe your yooifs eyes. This will tell us if americas eyes are open and if they actually do believe what happened to that mothers child. The defense in their closing responded essentially with dont be mislead by freezeframe stills on video. Lets talk about the actual charges that the jury had to decide on, seconddegree unyou intentional murder, thirder, seconddegree manslaughter. Can you explain . You know, this is the three different charges. Many people look at this, and elie, you will have a lot of comment on this as well. The heard of the part to reconcile in minnesota law is these are unintention a. M. Acts, not intent to kill, but you still have to intend to perform the act that caused the death, so this is essentially the thirddegree murder is you intended to commit the underlying felony, the knee to the neck, thats the felony assault and then you go down to the idea of seconddegree murder, thats the one talking about that you acted with a depraved heart in total disregard for sanctity of human life by an action you intended to commit even if not intending to kill him and then you have the idea of manslaughter, culpable negligence, more than just ordinary negligence, that you had a slip of mine. No, its that you intended the behavior and you were reckless in your behavior and it was grossly negligent but the intent component is difficult to reconcile for a lot of people. Jurors have had to decide essentially a number of things, but what was in Derek Chauvins mind. What was the policies of the Minnesota Police department . And what was the the likely cause of death . Yeah, aroundon, first of all. Its important that people understand that each one of these charges stands alone. The jury is not going to just pick one and say we find on that one. We are going to hear count one, guilty or not guilty. Count two, guilty or not guilty. And they can find guilty on all. They can find guilty on any two, any one or none. They have those options. Now, as to what was in Derek Chauvins mind. There are two issues that overlay all three of the counts that laura just outlined. One, was Derek Chauvins use of force excessive . Did it violate police training, Police Procedure and Police Protocol . I think in my opinion the evidence was very powerful on that. We heard from chief arredondo, heard from the senior lieutenant on the police force, heard from the Training Officer and the defense side all we heard was this one expert who said its perfectly fine if someone is prone to use whatever you want to restrain them. And chief ramsey just from a Law Enforcement standpoint, you aglow with that. I do agree with that. I agree it was wrong. I agree its outside of policy. Ive talked to a lot of Police Chiefs there. Hes not a single one as well as Police Officers that believe what he did was okay, and i dont know mr. Broad at all, but you can always find somebody thats going to, you know, present that sort of opinion, but believe me. This is so far out its just one thing i think is important to remember is the reason that were here and the reason that all this stuff matters is because you did have a Mass Movement, and dont forgot. The local prosecutors were bumbling the ball, and you had people putting pressure and that pressure resulted in keith ellison, the state attorney general, being able to take the case and then they put inthought an extraordinary case. Ive seen a bunch of these cases where felt the prosecutors were deliberately botching it, didnt put the time in and didnt really care. In this case you saw the prosecutors do an extraordinary job. I completely agree with van. The initial complaint filed by the local prosecutors in this case was a mess. Yes. There were fact in there that was irrelevant. They talked about the size of george floyd and we all understand where they were going with that. They left out important facts. Flags were raised. The attorney general did the right thing and stepped in and took over the case and gave it a grade a prosecution. Immediately what comes to mind in this case is the reinstatement of one of these charges, that thirder cdegree murder charge and that was the same with another Police Officer who was shot by an officer after reporting a Sexual Assault in the alley. There was a whole lot of appellate process going on about whether that particular charge should apply to a Police Officer or anybody frankly who had one particular victim in mind per se, and so i suspect that over the course of this particular verdict, if thirddegree murder is in fact one of the convictions, if any, it wont end there. There will be an appellate battle because the Supreme Court of minnesota did not weigh in on that issue. Its complex what they have to decide. I had to read it several time and quickly for our viewers, seconddegree unintentional that chauvin caused floyds death without intent and thirddegree assault is the intinksal infliction of bodily harm, right . Yes. And then theres perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to other with a depraved heart without regard for life and then then theres death by culp negligence where the person creates an unreasonable risk and takes chances of causing bodily death or harm. For every word you have to find the jury has to find beyond a reasonable doubt. It wasnt just, we talked about this, elie, wasnt just three charges that the jury had to go back and deliberate on. Each of those charges had three to four elements inside of it so they are talking about 12 things they had to decide and all of this done within 11 hours . Yeah. And let me try to really just boil it down. Count one, the top count, assault, okay. You dont have to prove as a prosecutor that there was an intent to kill. You have to prove that it was an intentional assault. Count two, reckless, reckless. Meaning the actions of Derek Chauvin, again, you dont have to prove Derek Chauvin said im going kill this person but that he created a reckless danger to george floyd. And that george is the thirddegree murder, second most serious charge and then the least serious channel, the third charge, is manslaughter is negligent meaning again Derek Chauvin didnt necessarily want to kill or intend to kill george floyd but he created an unreasonable risk. In terms of possible jail time theres both prescribed jail time. Two of the counts have the same prescribed jail time but prosecutors have also said theres aggravating circumstances which would allow more jail time, is that correct . Thats correct. You have the opportunity for a jury to decide about those aggravating factors. The prosecution puts forth because he was in a vulnerable pox, the power dynamic of an officers performing this act against a civilian in the presence of a child. All of these things can be aggravating factors and the defendant can opt to have the jury decide. Chauvin decided not to have that. Hell have the judge decide that. The judge will weigh the allegations of aggravating factors and decide whether the sentence should reflect that. Theres always a guideline, a grid that says here is the possible sentencing range according to your criminal history. Hes a former cop. Quickly. Sentencing will not happen today. Two numbers to watch today. The max sentences for each of these counts, 40 for the top and 25 for the middle and 10 for the bottom charge but within those ranges is the guide links, the sentencing guidelines, recommended ranges that laura is talking about. Jake . Anderson, thanks so much. If youre just joining us, the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial in minnesota has reached a verdict. That verdict will be ruled at some point in the next 30 minutes, according to the court. The jury reached its verdict shortly after 3 00 p. M. Eastern time were told after around ten hours of deliberations which experts and observers say is not really all that many hours of deliberation. Chauvin is facing seconddegree unintentional murder, thirddegree murder and seconddegree manslaughter charges. Lets go to cnns Miguel Marquez in, minneapolis, a city thats been on edge now and waiting for this video any minute now. I cant imagine what its like. Miguel . Reporter yeah, it feels like there is a lot of energy coursing through this city right now. Right in front of us this is Courtney Ross who is speaking, and some of her friends who are Courtney Ross is the girlfriend of george floyd who testified in this case. I just asked her a few minutes ago what she expects given that this has come back so quickly, and she says that they expect its guilty on all three counts and they say if its not, if its not or innocent on all three counts the only thing they say is i pray for minnesota. Let me show you, just in the last few minutes this, has all developed here where you can see a lot of press but lots and lots of people who have come from all over minneapolis. It is not a sense of celebration, but it is a sense of relief down here. I want to talk to jesse real quick. Jesse, were speaking to you earlier. Were live on cnn. What you heard about the verdict come in. Where did you come from . I came from work actually. Were you downtown . Yes, i just got off work and i came downtown and i ran into you and a couple of people and they said that the verdict is in. Reporter what is your expectation that its come back in ten hours . My expectation is guilty. Reporter on all three counts in. On all three counts. Thats what im hoping for. Reporter and if it is, what message does that send to the black community here, across the country, around the world . I think it sends a positive message. I think its a step towards the right way, you know, as far as us finally seeing justice for such a horrific incident, and i just really believe its going to come back guilty. Reporter happened how many concerned are you that it could be a split decision or not guilty on all three . Im not worried about a split decision and this is the reason why, because so much of society right now is hanging on to it being guilt, and if its not, its going to be chaos. Reporter all right. Thank you very much. The. Im trying to read this. Reporter george floyd and emmett till, that connection. He has a poem that he wants to read here tonight. I also want to bring over do we have here. Come on over, guys. This is Courtney Ross. Courtney. Hold on, im going to put the mic up. Hes my soul mate, someone that ill be with during life and after death. I love him. He is a man with a big heart like everyone is saying in the courtroom. Reporter miss ross. Sorry. Reporter im not used to all of this. Miss ross. Floyd was nothing but fun. Yeah, shes grieving right now. George Floyd George Floyd he was funny and silly and prayerful and a man of god, and he was out of this world, and i would like to tell people a lot, like floyd was a big man. He was too big for this earth, and i see it now. I see that. Hes over all of us right now. Weve got your back. Weve got your back. Miss ross, will a guilty verdict on all three counts bring any solace to you . I cant say. I just cant say. What would george floyd think about all of this . Ive always called him floyd, so george is always kind of like who is that . My friend george. I dont know who that is. I didnt date him. No, im just kidding. What i know floyd would want out of all of this is that people would be coming together, all people would be coming together. This isnt a time to separate. This isnt a time for us to blame or hurt each other. The its a time for us to come to go. I know this verdict is coming back guilty, and and when it does, i hope that his heart will really come through in everybody and know that he is such a loving man and would want us all to just as was said earlier, to put our arms around each other and love each other today. Reporter what will guilty verdicts mean to minneapolis, hand what will it mean to minnesota . I think will mean change. I think it will mean change. Its the first step in a long road to recovery. We have a lot of work to do in minneapolis, but i believe floyd came here for a reason. This is a sacred, sacred land, and we need to start respecting that again, and i know that that is what he would want. Floyd was attached to this city. He was attached to the lakes, particularly i know it happened here for a reason. Maybe we are the epicenter for change. Maybe were making the world look at things in a different way. Im not sure, but i know it definitely start that had momentum. Reporter why so important to be standing in this physical space right now . I think so many of us have a lot of negative experiences with the government. The this is not a comfortable place for many of us to be or to look at, though it represents our city and i love Hennepin County and i always stand for 612 minneapolis. Thats right, thats right. Thats my city, but at the same time ive had many bad encounters here, and so i think its time that we show what this building is supposed to be about, and its supposed to be about justice, so it needs to come back with that guilty verdict so that we can start to believe again and what this is about. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Good luck to you. Jake, just a sense i want to show you one other thing thats happening here all the way down on this side. There is a sense not quite of celebration but certainly of relief. A great expectation that this is going to be guilty on all counts. If its not that, maybe even a bigger problem. Jake. You just heard from Courtney Ross, the girlfriend of the late george floyd, expressing confidence that it will be a guilty verdict and hopefully that this will bring about some unit net United States. Miguel marquez, thanks so much. I want to go straight to cnns sara sidner live outside the government building, the courthouse in minnesota. Sara, youve been talking to the floyd family. What are they telling you . Reporter so i just heard from Philonise Floyd, George Floyds brother, and reminding folks that he was also person the day after he laid his brother to rest, he went to congress and spoke in front of them for the george floyd policing act, and so he is hoping for reform, but right now he is up in the courtroom. The he is he told mow that he was pacing, getting ready to go into the court to hear this verdict. He is now in the court, and he said to me, you know, after all of this, for him he has had a really hard time sleeping, and he said i havent been able to sleep throughout much of this, and he said maybe hearing this verdict will finally help me get some sleep, and in his mind he wants the verdict to be a certain way and maybe hell be able to get some rest. The he also said that this, he realizes, is historic for the world, for earning in, and that he was heartened to see that so many people cared about what happened to his brother, and he commented about so many people across america from different creeds and colors who came out in his name and to see all the people, and he kept mentioning i see all the people. I appreciate their support, whether it be in the streets or in the halls of congress. I see all of the people who have stood up for justice and stood up for his brother an against what happened to his brother, so right now he is inside of the court waiting on the verdict just like all of us. Jake . Although it does sound though, sarah, that flownies floyd, George Floyds brother like George Floyds girlfriend is optimistic that it will be a guilty verdict based on what youre saying. Reporter absolutely, and, you know, the reason for that one is he has said this over and over to me. Long before the jury said they had a decision. He has said that he has faith, and he believes that no one could have watched that video, the video alone and not come back with a guilty verdict. He also realized after we talked and i told him that a verdict had been reached, he said that there were no questions, and he noticed that there were no questions by the jurors in this case, and to him that was a a sign that they had looked at all of the evidence in the trial and that they didnt need to rewatch it again or relook at it all again because they hadnt made a decision. He believes that decision will be guilty. Have to be careful. Its the 12 people that were chosen and make that decision and were going to hear that decision very shortly. Sar ark sidner, thanks very much. Lets go now to a different part of minneapolis. Adrienne broaddus is in a different part i think downtown near a police precinct. The tell us whats happening where you are. Reporter weve about half an hour from the help pin county government office. They are installing more barriers just in front. Roadway that leads to the police department. Just in front that have there is a gate that. Gate wasnt there earlier today. It was delivered and installed moments before we learned that jurors had reached a verdict. On the other side of the police department, the businesses here, have put up more boards to protect their building. When this verdict when the news came that the verdict was reached, we were inside of a church at 38th and chicago. If you sit down inside of the sanctuary of that church and look out the window, you can see George Floyd Square. You see where floyd took the final moments of his life. We shared with the pastor that we were speaking with for another story, the jury has reached a verdict. He and his wife said their heart dropped, but they found a bit of comfort knowing the jury reached the verdict so quickly, and one thing they also pointed out, so many have asked them what do you think the outcome will be . He said they are not necessarily worried about the outcome. The bigger question at this shower what is most important and they talked about humanity. He talked about the people he served for nearly 40 years on that corner. Like floyd he moved to minneapolis from texas, and like other people in that community, he had issues with members of Law Enforcement at a young age. He said he had a counter with police that left him with a traumatic brain injury, and he wants to use that bad experience. He wants to move forward to help people heal. Yesterday when we heard the closing arguments, the defense said floyd had a large heart and the prosecution said that chauvins heart is not big enough and heart is at the center of this and he leads with love. Downtown around all the barriers and barricade theres a big billboard. Its black and white letters. Theres the word love, and thats what he wants to lead with, love. Jake . Adrienne broaddus, thanks so much. I want to go back to cnns don lemon. Don, one of the most remarkable things about this trial and about the george floyd case, and i dont know if my team has the murals, the pictures of the murals red, but there have been pictures, paintings, murals of george floyd around the world, in pakistan, in england, all over as a symbol of injustice at the hands of the government. This case has taken on a Truly International meaning representing the idea of people who do not deserve it being put down, being killed, being oppressed by their governments often because of racism but also just in general, government versus people. Yeah, and it all started in minneapolis in what is now George Floyd Square. There was no George Floyd Square obviously before this happened. Its transformed in many ways black lives matter way which is in d. C. Where you live, jake, by think the reason its become such a symbol is obviously because, number one, i really do think that its because of the attention that this particular case got because which were in quarantine and because people didnt know where their lives were going or what was going to happen next, because we didnt know if our loved ones were going to be sick or if we were going to be sick or what was going to happen from moment to moment, if we were going to have a job and so on. You have to remember where we were a year ago, an not very far, you know, along, a couple of months, may 25th. Were basically sort of in the same place and we were all sitting at home in quarantine, and i think the whole world was matching because america looks the world looks to america as a symbol of democracy, and if theres any place on earth that can guarantee freedom and that can guarantee what the constitution says that we are in search of a more perfect union, theres no other place on earth than the United States, and to see this atrocity happen on a city street in the middle of the day in the United States was just something that people could not wrap their heads around it worldwide. People in america couldnt as well. For people of color particularly it was a confirmation of all those things that people say well, you know, maybe its an exaggeration, what have you, but i think its confirmation for people around the world they were just stunned and they dont believe that something hike that was happening in the United States and not in the some war zone or some third world country. So just to take a step back, the black lives Matter Movement as i recall first hearing about it was in 2015 after the death of Michael Brown in ferguson, missouri, and if we go back not even six full years, and i dont mean to pick on Hillary Clinton, but Hillary Clinton who certainly is someone allied with civil rights first asked about this, did not know what black lives matter meant, made the same mistake that a lot of politicians did at that time and saying well all lives matter. The now were at a point almost sixing years later after all of these Different Cases, and maybe crescendoing with the death of george floyd that because of the pandemic, as you note, but also because of how horrifying this video was, this 9 minutes and 29 seconds of a Police Officer with his knee on the neck of george floyd while the crowd, while children begged the policeman to get off his neck and he didnt. To the point that you have mitt romney marching with the black lives Matter Movement in washington, d. C. In 2020. It is a sea change in the culture, a sea change. Do you agree . Well, i think its a sea change in awareness, not necessarily in practice, and so we will see what happens with this verdict, but it was not just black lives matter, right, because many people didnt see. Its so easy to see if you just added the word too, too, or black lives matter also or black lives matter, too, and i think it helps people understand what you mean. Not that all lives dont matter. Black lives matter because thats what were talking about at this point. Its obvious that white lives matter, but it wasnt just black lives matter. Remember, it was Colin Kaepernick who took a knee for injustice, Police Injustice and for reform in this country, and then you had Derek Chauvin with his knee on George Floyds neck at first we thought it was 8 minutes and 46 seconds and then during the trial we learned it was 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Right. Theres been a number of things that led us to this. Remember, there was this. Very fine people on both sides. People said, okay, this is nuts, and then there was Ahmaud Arbery, and we cant forgot how horrific that video is, horrific what happened to Ahmaud Arbery but how horrific the video is of Ahmaud Arbery jogging down a street and being shot with a shotgun and we see it. Yeah. And then we hear what happens to Breonna Taylor in her bedroom and then the death of george floyd so theres been a number of things that have led to this. Yes. A sea change in awareness. Well see if its in prak twhis this verdict is read. Don, well come back to you in a s. E. C. Cnns omar jimenez is at George Floyd Square in minneapolis at the site of this alleged crime. Omar, whats it like there . Reporter jake, well the crowd lass started to grow here, of course, in anticipation of a verdict as you hear people start to chant as well. But when you make your way over to the spot where george floyd took some of his final breaths, you see that, of course, the memorial aspect of this is still here, but then when you pan up and look over to the left you see how many people have started to form. Some of them, of course, press here in this moment, but people are anxious. They want the results in this trial. They want the verdict. One woman we spoke to who actually seems to be leading some of the chants right now said that it doesnt matter to her what the verdict is. She feels that the momentum that has been grown from the movement over the course of a little under a year now is enough to propel people forward for generations to come, and when you look over here, these are people, they are leading the chants. Were not aware that theres any television or something set up to watch to see when actually the verdict drops, but you see the passion is still here. They are leading. They want to prosecute the police, and one person we spoke to actually earlier today say thats what they do here in minneapolis. Theres never a question. They wanted people they wanted the police, i should say, to be treated how any other person would be treat federal they had done the actions that Derek Chauvin had done, and so thats what people are feeling here, and when you think about this moment that were in, this moment that has been coming for almost a year now, that has been building up, this is why its important. This reminds you of the somberness and the reality of the situation that had a human life was lost at the hands of police, that a family still has a gaping hole. The only question is with this verdict does this now become a spark point for even further to come out of here in minneapolis . Jake. Omar jimenez, and its all in the hands of the jury right now. Were expecting them to come into the courtroom, to the Government Center and announce their unanimous decision after only ten hours. Were all riveted waiting to hear what they have to say. We understand that President Biden at the white house is at at his tv watching, waiting to find out what the verdict will be. Lets bring in Anderson Cooper and his panel. Anderson . Jake, thank you very much. Appreciate it. When the jury does come, and and we are not sure, that they have come up from the hotel where they were sequestered. They were deliberating very late last night, and the assumption is they are being transported to the courthouse during some the a of this. Remember, you were able to hand over notes through zoom because they didnt want to bring the defendant, the counsel, everyone in. The jury never goes into the room to actually hand over the question to the judge. Its always sort of done in this distanced way to give them their whats going happen once they are brought back, whether now or not, when they are back in the courtroom what happens . They will sit in the jury box the way they have been through the entire trial. They will hand the foreman will hand the verdict to the judge who will review it quickly and ask if they were able to reach a unanimous verdict which has to happen in minnesota. It must be unanimous. At this stage does the judge know. Usually the judge gets a look in advance. He knows whats coming. Hell ask the foreperson of the jury, count one, how do you find, guilt or not guilty . The foreperson will read the verdict. We deal that times three, and then the next big thing that happens is if there is a conviction, the prosecution often seeks to remand the defendant, to send him into jail. Derek chauvin has been out on bail pending trial. What changes if theres a conviction is that presumption of innocence is now gone, so its common, its up to the prosecutor if you want to ask this, and the judge doesnt always agree, but ive had cases like this where someone is out on bail, you say, judge, we move to remand the defendant, and often, not always, often the judge says i grant that motion and hes off to prison. So he might be able to go home or he might actually directly go to prison. Well, its called step back oftentimes and they could be table do it. This is a murder conviction, one thats not a nonviolent crime. Sometimes they give you the opportunity to settle ones affairs but if Derek Chauvin is convicted of murder charges, one or more, then there is an assumption that hes no longer table have the benefit of freedom. Again, this is not a sentencing opportunity yet. This will be the conviction or acquittal moment. The judge will still have to determine often through a report, discussions about remorse, et cetera. Hell fill out some paperwork. Well talk to the equivalent of a probation officer about his views on the crime and what hes done to sort of guide the opportunity in the judges hand to say what am i dealing with . What type of criminal or felon am i dealing with now . Am i talking about someone who is likely to be a recidivist, return to a life of crime, someone who needs treatment . All of this holistic sentence will go take place. We as americans have changed over the course of time its not a pipeline to prison postconviction but its about how to reason today oenchesd as well. Van jones, everybody is listening to will it be a conviction on all counts. How much does that matter in terms of the publics response . I think it matters a lot. I think obviously if theres an acquittal, its completely devastating, but if its just the lower one, hes negligent, that didnt feel negligent. That didnt look like negligence, and so i do think that it matters, you know, if its all three, i think youre going to feel a level of vindication for this movement and for this community, and dont forgot, this is not the only case in that area. Ive talked to people on the ground there. You have to understand about this. Where is this happening . Its the most livable place and also has the biggest disparities. Its a great place to be white and a terrible place to be black. Thats what everybody tells me, and they say that the level of friction between, you know, the somali community, the black community there hand the police is unreal. They feel like they are in a war zone all the time and then you bring in all these troops. You have a grieving community thats already traumatized and now you have police and troops everywhere so they are literally just on pins and needles. If you have a complete vindication of when what all these grass roots groups have been saying, then theres relief but if you come back with one judge and then if the sentencing guidelines give you a couple of years, its going to be putting salt in a very big wound. Chief ramsey, just, you know, we have several hours now or time where were awaiting this verdict. Law enforcement also has time to try to figure out. Right. Obviously they have been going over contingency plans for quite some time. They have been going over plans. You have to be prepared whether theres an acquittal or whether th theres a conviction because in many cities people will take to the streets, either in celebration or because they are upset because of the verdict. You have to be ready no matter what. Unfortunately, they have some experience because in may with the killing of george floyd there was a lot of unrest, and so many of the areas where know you had unrest, youre going already have your platoons out there to be able to protect strip malls and different places like that where youre likely going to have some issues. You want to be able to have people just celebrate and, you know, express their First Amendment rights at the same time, so youve got to have that balance there, and i think right now thats whats been taking place. Theres been a lot of preparation. Theres been a lot of Conference Calls between major city chiefs, conference of mayors, iecp and perf talking about the things that went bad in may so that we dont repeat the same mistakes made in may. Thats important. Also on the other side of it youve got to try to have some public order and some safety, but you also had 50 grass roots organizations begging, saying you have now too much Police Presence on us. Youve got these humvees. You have all this stuff and the young people feel they are being pushed up against the wall. They need the space to grieve. They need the space to celebrate and they need the space to be able to do it the right way, so sometimes, know, youre in a tough situation if youre local government there because if you dont have enough presence, youre going to get in trouble, but you can also overdo it. So what my hope is that you have let me just give some praise to some of these groups. Black collective, reclaim the black, Minnesota Youth collective, acer, Movement Voter project. Those young people were out there when the cameras were there. They need space to protest tonight safely or celebrate tonight safely. I hope they give it. We have a pavlovian response in america that when we have impending verdicts and you see buildings start to be boarded up and businesses start to close, that trust gap thats already there between our Justice System and members of the community, text bands exponentially because in their minds they say youre preparing me for an acquittal. You are telling me if its boarded up, you anticipate my unrest, my wrath. You anticipate the devolution of a protest into looting and other things, and so part of what youre seeing in terms of what youre speaking about, van, is that pavlovian reflection and response saying what does this mean if youre calling out the National Guard . Did you get a heads up, governor, did you get a heads up, president , judge . Do you know something that we dont know and what you raised, van, the difference between how you compare and what negligence locks like. Minnesota has a very specific and recent memory of what seconddegree charges look like, seconddegree manslaughter because jimenez who killed castillo charged and acquitted with the charge. Does that feel the same way, the officer resign kim potter who killed Daunte Wright, same charge. Does that the feel same way as the 9 minutes and 29 seconds so youve got a population of people, human beings, who are saying if im going to compare. This doesnt feel like those cases and if thats all he gets thats going to be something that might contribute to that trust gap widening. Real quick. If i can just respond to something that van said. One of the things that was discussed is not having a heavyhanded approach immediately. If you need people in riot gear, stage them out of sight. They can respond quickly, but you start off as low a level as can you. Lets go back to jake. Inning that you, anderson. Were standing by for the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial to be announced any minute. Im going to hand it over to Cnns Wolf Blitzer right now. Jake, thanks investment im wolf blitzer in the the situation room. Were picking up our special coverage of the chauvin trial verdict. The joining us is Anderson Cooper and don lemon. I want to go to sara sidner first on the scene for us in minneapolis. We expect this verdict fairly soon, right, sara . Looks like we have to reconnect with sara sidner. Well try to reconnect with her momentarily. Were also were also watching all of this unfold with don lemon and Anderson Cooper. Let me bring in don lemon right now. Don, youve got some thoughts on what we can anticipate. I do have some thoughts, wolf, and just so you know ive been in communicate with ben crump, the family attorney, and i asked him. I said is there what can i say right now . Are you optimistic . Are you cautious