Three guilty verdicts read aloud in a Minneapolis courtroom late Tuesday sparked, relief, hope — and resolve — among Black leaders and activists in Connecticut, who say they were glad to see a jury hold former police officer Derek Chauvin accountable for the murder of George Floyd.
Chauvin’s convictions left state Sen. Doug McCrory stunned — even a bit hopeful.
“I think this will give hope to younger generations of people in this country that maybe things can be better, that maybe there will be equity, maybe there will be freedom, maybe people will look at us with humanity,” McCrory said.
“We’ve been through this before … our parents and our grandparents have seen this play out, but maybe this will give young people hope that the system can work. And maybe this will stop bad actors from killing us, maybe this will make them think twice about killing us.”
But the relief was somewhat tempered by the work many say still lies ahead. The verdicts will sharpen the resolve to push harder for more accountability measures and further criminal justice reforms in Connecticut and across the country as communities continue to grapple with police violence, community leaders said.
“For the justice system to work for Black people is it working for all people. … We’ve been excluded for so long,” said Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP.
“Hopefully this is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a dark and bloody tunnel.”
Chauvin, 45, was convicted Tuesday of two charges of murder and one of manslaughter after the death of Floyd, 46, on a Minneapolis street on May 25, 2020. The incident — with a white officer killing a Black man — was captured on video, which quickly sparked protests nationwide — including throughout Connecticut — that continued for months into the summer.
The large, peaceful demonstrations in Connecticut drove state lawmakers to approve a series of police accountability measures, including a plan to create a new inspector general to investigate fatal police shootings. There has also been renewed focus on issues that perpetuate inequality in the state, including housing and education.
Chauvin’s conviction “may be just, but it is not justice” because it does not alone change the overall justice system and much more work lies ahead, said Yale professor Phillip Atiba Goff, who co-founded the Center for Policing Equity.
“Holding one murderer accountable does not deliver justice for George Floyd and other victims of state-sponsored violence; only holding ourselves accountable for creating and maintaining the system that enabled Chauvin can bring us any closer,” Goff said.
The trial against Chauvin over the past several weeks has captured the entire nation’s attention and reignited scrutiny on how rare it is for former officers to be convicted after fatal police shootings.
“This verdict is a real, real pivotal point, in the struggle in the Black Lives Matter movement, in the awareness of people of color,” said Natalie Langleise, a Hartford activist and Trinidadian immigrant who previously served as vice president of the local Black Lives Matter group. “People are starting to learn that if we speak up, others will listen. They have to listen.”
At 55, McCrory has seen countless cases of police officers acquitted of murdering Black people, from Rodney King to Philando Castillo to Freddie Gray.
“I truly believed [Chauvin] was going to walk, like they always do,” he said.
In Connecticut there are eight outstanding investigations into use of force by police officers over the past two years, half of which involved officers fatally shooting people during encounters.
Those cases show there is still much more work to be done in Connecticut, despite how frequently officials tout the state’s recent criminal justice reforms, leaders said.
“Today’s verdict has released a flurry of emotions and a collective sigh,” said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District. “While there is much work to be done and so many conversations to be had, I reserve today for prayer … Today justice was articulated through accountability.
“Today is a moment of reflection for our entire country — tomorrow we resume the work and recommit ourselves towards building a more just nation.”
Sen. Gary Winfield, a Democrat from New Haven who has long been at the forefront of police reform efforts in Connecticut, said the case against Chauvin was strong. Yet he and many people he knew held their collective breath when the verdict was announced.
“I am happy the outcome is what it is, but it doesn’t make me feel good that you have to have the moon and the stars line up to get a guilty verdict for someone that we know clearly was guilty,” Winfield said.
Just before the verdict was read, the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus had signed on to its scheduled Zoom meeting. The group took an immediate pause so members could watch the judge’s comments.
“They got the verdict right,” said Rep. Geraldo Reyes, a Democrat from Waterbury who leads the caucus. “The whole world saw what the jury saw.”
He said the results could signify a turning point in the way the criminal justice system treats police officers who kill Black citizens. “This could be the start of a new era but we still have work to do,” he said.
Outside the state Capitol building, many who attended a rally in support of legalizing recreational marijuana waited in tense anticipation when news broke a verdict was coming. Black Lives Matter activists also among the crowd chose not to stream the announcement live for fear Chauvin would be acquitted.
“I almost feel guilty I’m not as happy as I should be,” said Keren Prescott, founder and organizer of PowerUp Manchester. “George Floyd had to die so his daughter could live.
“We should be further along than where we are,” she continued. “I’m weary, my 10-year-old is weary. There’s a resilience in us — sometimes I’m angry with it, many times I want to give up — but there’s something in the spirit of black folk that don’t allow us to give up.”
Joshua Frazer, 37, said that Chauvin’s guilty verdict was important. He now runs a tree-cutting service but said he has been arrested and served time in prison in the past and cried when he heard the jury’s decision.
“It’s definitely a time of accountability,” Frazer said outside the state Capitol. “As someone coming out of prison, I have to be accountable. If you don’t convict [Chauvin] there, what happens? It could have erupted in the streets. I don’t want the violence.”
Winfield, who helped craft the police accountability legislation last year, said he is hopeful his young children will come of age in a more just world.
“Black people in this country have an amazingly resilient sense of hope,” he said. “Without that, we would not be here still trying to participate in this thing that we call America. If I weren’t hopeful that the system can change, I would really be in despair … If I weren’t hopeful, I would know for a fact that my kids would continue to exist inside of an America that I was born into and that’s not an America I want for my children.”
Staff writers Jessika Harkay and Christopher Keating contributed to this report.
Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@courant.com. Daniela Altimari can be reached at dnaltimari@courant.com.
