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After the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial on Tuesday, local leaders involved in last summerâs racial justice discourse voiced relief at the verdict as well as resolve for continuing the work of the last year.
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis Police Department officer, was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, when he knelt on his neck for more than 9 minutes on May 25, 2020. Marches and demonstrations were widespread across the nation, including in Mesa County, following that incident.
Grand Junction Police Chief Doug Shoemaker said in a statement that those demonstrations led to positive conversations between local law enforcement and the community.
The Grand Valley Task Force, which has been spending months setting up working groups to address systemic biases in the community, gave its first public update on that process since the fall.
City Council Member Anna Stout, who has been a leader on the Task Force since it was formed last summer, began the meeting by thanking the members of the community who have taken part in their efforts. The seven working groups consist of members of local institutions like School District 51 and the Grand Junction Police Department, as well as community members.
âThis group came together last summer, in about June 2020, in the wake of conversations that were really taking place both nationwide and in our community,â Stout said. âThis group specifically came out of a City Council meeting in early June, but this is not a city effort, this is not a city task force and I think thatâs important. This is a community task force.â