"We have often seen the police do things like this, or worse, and get away with it," said a protester at a rally on the eve of the start of the trial of Derek Chauvin, who is accused of causing the death of Georges Floyd, during a police check in May 2020. Like him, many of them doubt that the policeman will be condemned.
“We have a lot of hope but at the same time we expect that he will not be found guilty, as usual.
This is the problem of American justice.
There are double standards, ”adds a Frenchwoman living in Minneapolis.
This eagerly awaited trial is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT) with the selection of jurors.
But final debates on the exact characterization of the charges against Derek Chauvin could delay the proceedings.
So far, the 44-year-old man, including 19 with the Minneapolis Police Department, is charged with murder and manslaughter.
Released on bail, he will appear free.
READ ALSO>
VIDEO.
Who is Derek Chauvin, the police officer tried for the death of George Floyd?
On May 25, he intervened with three colleagues to arrest George Floyd on suspicion of using a forged twenty dollar bill to buy himself a pack of cigarettes.
In the middle of the street, and in front of frightened passers-by, Derek Chauvin had remained kneeling for nearly nine minutes on the neck of the black forty-something, handcuffed and pinned to the ground, although the latter had launched twenty times: "I cannot breathe ".
These were his last words and they became the rallying cry of millions of demonstrators who, alerted by a video of the tragedy, took to the streets of Miami in Los Angeles, but also London, Paris or Sydney to demand justice.
