Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was led away in handcuffs Tuesday after a jury convicted him of killing George Floyd.
Gov. Doug Ducey said on Twitter that the verdict brings justice. He called on people to react to the verdict peacefully.
Today’s decision by the jury in Minneapolis brings justice in the death of George Floyd, but across the country & across our state we must remain committed to ensuring something like this never happens again. I ask all Arizonans to react to the news peacefully & respectfully. 2/2
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) April 20, 2021
Phoenix was one of many U.S. cities where protests took place last year after Floyd’s death.
Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Taylor said Chauvin was a bad officer and his conviction was the right verdict.
“And people are going to be celebrating and the reason why is people feel that justice was served today,” he said.
Taylor said the convictions of Chauvin on murder and manslaughter charges will let people heal from the trauma of Floyd’s death.
“This will move forward and give people confidence in our justice system. That jurors can get it right,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said in a statement that she hopes the verdict will help Floyd’s friends and family start to heal.
Her Democratic colleague Rep. Raul Grijalva called for justice to be served in the upcoming trials of Chauvin’s fellow officers.
After so many miscarriages of justice in the aftermath of police killings, today’s guilty verdict was a long-awaited step in the right direction to holding officers accountable.
— Raul M. Grijalva (@RepRaulGrijalva) April 20, 2021
Nothing can bring George Floyd back, but I hope this provides some comfort to his grieving family.
