A Jury Found Derek Chauvin Guilty. What Does The Verdict Mean To You?

WAMU 88.5 | By Haili Blassingame

Published April 21, 2021 at 7:08 AM CDT

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 20: People react after the verdict was read in the Derek Chauvin trial on April 20, 2021 In Minneapolis, Minnesota. Former police officer Derek Chauvin was on trial on second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd May 25, 2020. After video was released of then-officer Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, protests broke out across the U.S. and around the world. The jury found Chauvin guilty on all three charges. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, was found guilty of murder on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter on Tuesday afternoon. It took the jury ten hours to return a verdict.

The judge in the case, Peter Cahill, expects that Chauvin will be sentenced in the next eight weeks. The trial of three other police officers who were at the scene of Floyd’s killing will start in late summer.

It’s a historic verdict, but what does it mean for the future of policing and police accountability in the U.S?

First, we’re talking with a friend of George Floyd, Pastor Patrick Ngwolo about what the guilty verdict means to him. Then, we take your calls with our panel of experts.