Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the case of George Floyd’s death, which set off worldwide protests, violence and a re-examination of racism and policing in the United States.
The jury delivered its verdict on Tuesday, less than a year after Chauvin, who is white, pinned the 46-year-old Black man down with a knee to his neck last May.
After the decision, crowds across the country celebrated, honking car horns, streaming through the streets with signs of Floyd’s face and breaking down in tears. But the joy was tinged with the realisation that much work remains to be done to bring about lasting change.
In Houston’s Third Ward, a historically Black neighbourhood where Floyd grew up, James Walker, 39, called the verdict bittersweet.
Floyd’s “life is still gone. I wouldn’t call it a celebration. Let’s call it a premature step for what needs to be for everybody … I’m happy for the outcome,” Walker said.