Texas lawmakers and activists portrayed Tuesdayâs guilty verdict in Americaâs most closely watched trial of a white police officer in a generation as a step toward justice â but said there is more work ahead to reform police behavior and the criminal justice system.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, a Black man, for putting his knee on the manâs neck for several minutes. Jurors found Chauvin, guilty of all three charges he faced: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Floydâs murder sparked nationwide Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. and in Texas during the summer and prompted renewed calls for police reform. And Texas police departments garnered criticism for their use of force during those protests. Before this yearâs legislative session began, the Texas Legislative Black Caucus unveiled the George Floyd Act that would ban chokeholds and
Here’s a look at high-profile cases where police killed civilians and the outcome of the cases:
Eric Garner, 43, a Black man, died in July 2014 in New York City after a white officer placed him in a chokehold when Garner refused to be handcuffed for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in December that year. The Justice Department said in 2019 that it wouldn’t file civil rights charges after a years-long investigation.
Michael Brown, 18, was fatally shot by a white officer, Darren Wilson, in August 2014 in Ferguson, Mo., touching off weeks of sometimes violent protests. A St. Louis County grand jury declined in November 2014 to indict Wilson in the unarmed Black teen’s death, and the U.S. Department of Justice later also declined to charge him. Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, conducted a five-month review of witness statements, forensic reports and other evidence and annou
A big step towards change : People in North Texas reflect on guilty verdict
There was elation and relief as the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts for the death of George Floyd. Author: WFAA Staff Updated: 8:46 PM CDT April 20, 2021
DALLAS The jury in the Derek Chauvin trial found the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. The reverberations of the verdict were felt across the globe and reached North Texas.
There was elation and relief as the news spread. Some activists and organizers were on pins and needles as the verdict came down.
Updated: 6:42 PM CDT April 20, 2021
DALLAS A jury Tuesday found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd.
In the past few years, North Texas prosecutors have convicted police officers of murder. But in each case, questions and complaints arrived with each officer s eventual prison sentence. I think the notion now is police officers don t get carte blanche to do whatever they want to do, said career prosecutor Mike Snipes, who led the prosecution of former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver in 2018. Oliver was convicted of murder in the 2017 shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, shot in the head in the passenger seat of a vehicle as it sped away from a party. Oliver is now serving time in a TDCJ facility in Rosharon, Texas. Snipes had sought a sentence of 60 years.