Several thousand demonstrators march through the streets of Minneapolis, despite the bitter cold.
To the usual slogans “
Black Lives Matter
” and “
I can't breathe
”, is added a warning for the occasion: “
The whole world is watching us.
On this Monday morning, all eyes converge on the city of Minnesota where the trial of Derek Chauvin is to begin.
The event is historic: this 44-year-old former police officer (including 19 in law enforcement) is charged with the murder of George Floyd, 46, on May 25, 2020, after holding the suspect down in respect, a knee on his neck for nearly 9 minutes, in front of witnesses, and having ignored his pleas, become a rallying cry against police violence.
"
I can't breathe
" ...
Read also: America's tribute to George Floyd, erected as a martyr of racism
For second degree murder (manslaughter or negligence), Derek Chauvin risks a sentence of twenty-five years in prison, at least.
Shortly after his arrest, he initially negotiated a compromise with the local justice system, under which he agreed to plead guilty to the third degree and spend ten years behind bars, on condition of avoiding any federal prosecution (among other things, the of death).
The then
attorney general
, Bill Barr, abruptly halted the process.
The tension is at its height in Minneapolis, which is still healing its wounds after the devastating riots of 2020. An acquittal of the white policeman, who now pleads not guilty, would have incalculable consequences in the city in turmoil, where a quarter of the workforce of police returned their badges a year ago, citing injuries or symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the riots.
Across the United States, where police violence and racial tensions continue despite the electroshock of the Floyd affair, an acquittal could trigger a serious political crisis for the Biden Administration, which is entirely geared towards the campaign of vaccination against Sars-CoV-2 and the adoption of a $ 1900 billion economic assistance plan, currently being negotiated in Congress.
The stake of the forensic examination
Transparency and fairness are therefore important in this trial, the most anticipated across the Atlantic since that of football star OJ Simpson, twenty-five years earlier.
After a three-week preliminary phase relating to jury selection, pleadings are expected to begin on March 29, postponing a verdict until the end of April, or even into May.
An essential part of the standoff to come between prosecutors and Chauvin's defenders, the forensic examination of the victim's body will determine whether the victim was under the influence of narcotics (fentanyl, methamphetamines) and in a precarious state of health , having affected his behavior and "
endangered
" Agent Chauvin's life.
The prosecution, it will insist on the cruelty of the latter, who maintained his pressure on the neck of the victim, even though one of his colleagues had indicated "
no longer feel the pulse
" of Floyd.
Outside the court surrounded by impassable barriers and concrete blocks, a white coffin covered with red roses was placed in front of the rows of heavily armed police.
The city's mayor, Democrat Jacob Frey, called in more than 2,000 National Guard soldiers and 1,100 law enforcement officers, investing more than $ 1 million in an operation dubbed "Net of security".
Frey and Governor Tim Walz were criticized for their passivity in the face of the extent of the depredations on the public highway and the seriousness of the nocturnal disturbances.
“
As we have seen happen in many other cities
, insists Mayor Jacob Frey,
when there is a trial concerning blacks killed by police officers, great frustration arises, a lot of anxiety and trauma resurfaces.
We believe it is up to us to rise to the occasion and make our families feel safe in this city.
"
There is no guarantee that Derek Chauvin and the three other offending agents will pay for their actions.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, civil rights lawyer in Minneapolis.
Jacob Frey, however, can do nothing for the progress of the trial, the opening of which was delayed Monday morning.
The defendant's lawyer got a brief postponement of the jury selection process, appealing an additional charge of his client for third degree murder, a ground already dismissed for the first time in October.
As the sentences add up to the United States, such a charge could earn Chauvin an even more severe verdict, if he were to be found guilty of all the facts against him.
"
There is absolutely no guarantee that Derek Chauvin and the three other offending agents
(Thomas Lane, Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao),
will pay for their actions, despite the terrible video
(of the live death of Floyd)
that we we've all seen it
, tempers Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer in Minneapolis.
If guilt is not found at the end of this trial, then the end of any criminal prosecution against a white police officer who allegedly caused the death of a black man in the state of Minnesota
. ”
Read also: "You would be crazy to look at America and say: 'We should do the same" "
If Chauvin were to be acquitted, in fact, the trial of his three former colleagues, postponed to August to avoid cluttering the court imprudently for health reasons, would then risk being outright canceled, stoking frustration and anger among supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement.
