It was announced Tuesday afternoon that a guilty verdict had been found by the jury in the case of State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin on all three of the counts of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
In response to the jury’s verdicts, DFL Leader Susan Kent (DFL-Woodbury) released the following statement:
“This past year has been incredibly hard, but especially on our communities of color. The murder of George Floyd was traumatic, but the entire situation highlighted deep-rooted failures in our policing system that our BIPOC communities have known throughout their lives. Many have come to face the fact that systemic racism is embedded in our society and has created inequities at all levels of government.”
“I am grateful that today, justice was served, and Derek Chauvin will be held accountable for the murder of George Floyd. But one conviction does not change an entire system. We must act urgently to pass needed police reforms because every Minnesotan – regardless of race, zip code or economic status – deserves to make it home safe at the end of the day.”
“We also need to take urgent action as we develop the state’s budget to make sure we address the inequities that exist across our entire system so that our communities of color can truly succeed in the state we all aspire to be. We must ensure that our black and brown community members are able to realize their dreams by providing great schools, fair wages, reliable housing, healthcare that works, and other social supports to help our neighbors and friends thrive.”
“Black lives matter. And I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to acknowledge that fact and act with the same sense of urgency they did earlier this week to support police funding. As Paul Wellstone said, ‘We all do better when we all do better,’ and these words still resonate today. This verdict is the first step in justice realized, and I am committed to passing legislation that will lead to a wave of changes and reforms that are long overdue.”
“The world is watching Minnesota tonight. Let this be a night of hope and the first step toward the changes to come.”
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