George Floyd murder: Joe Biden says the evidence is "overwhelming"

This is surely a first.

The US president spoke with the family of George Floyd, the White House said on Tuesday, as the jury deliberates on the responsibility of police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of the murder of the African-American forty-something.

"President Biden spoke yesterday (Monday) with the family of George Floyd to hear from him and assure him that he was praying for them," Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the US executive, said in a tweet.

President Biden spoke with the family of George Floyd yesterday to check in with them and also share that the family was in his prayers.

- Jen Psaki (@PressSec) April 20, 2021

The jury retired on Monday to deliberate on the responsibility of Derek Chauvin, a 45-year-old white police officer on trial for murder, manslaughter and intentional violence resulting in the death of George Floyd, whom he had arrested with three other officers for an offense minor, also prosecuted.

"You must be absolutely impartial"

For more than nine minutes, the policeman kept his knee on the neck of the 40-year-old, who was lying on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back.

His agony, filmed live by passers-by, shocked the world and sparked demonstrations of historic proportions against racism and police violence.

The trial is being held amid high tensions and daily protests following the recent death of a young black man on the outskirts of Minneapolis. "You must be absolutely impartial," Judge Peter Cahill told the jury on Monday after a long day devoted to requisitions and pleading. Some across the Atlantic fear an outbreak of violence in the United States if the verdict was too lenient with regard to Derek Chauvin.