Madison community leaders react to Chauvin verdict
April 20, 2021 8:24 PM Jamie Perez
Updated:
Guilty verdicts on all three counts relieved many of them.
“I cried,” Boys and Girls Clubs CEO Michael Johnson said. “I couldn’t even sit there and watch the whole thing. You just don’t think that when you see these incidents happen time and time again, sometimes you question whether or not our judicial system would do the right thing and today they did.”
Johnson asked Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes to join the group for the verdict. Barnes accepted the invitation.
“I was a little disappointed, and I’ll tell you why, because we were all waiting with bated breath for a decision that should not have been a surprise,” Barnes said. “I think that when we get to a point where justice is so apparent to everyone that we’re not surprised, we’re showing real progress.”