The law did George Floyd justice; now the Senate follows (Analysis)

Joe Biden speaks to the country after verdict against Chauvin 12:03

(CNN) -

Derek Chauvin's sentencing showed that George Floyd's life really mattered to a tried-and-true court system.

Now millions of Americans are waiting to see if a rare moment of hope will spur political leaders to deliver similar justice through police reform and the eradication of systemic racism.

A jury of 12 Minnesotans did more than sentence ex-cop Chauvin on all charges of Floyd's murder Tuesday, squeezing his life with one knee to the neck. At a deep moment in modern American history, they offered a measure of optimism that Americans of all races will one day be treated equally and that evil police officers can be held accountable to the laws they must enforce.

The verdict will not bring Floyd back from an unnecessary death. Nor will it erase the millions of injustices Black Americans face that are not captured on cell phone video, or the fear of the black community during encounters with the police. Proof of this was police shootings and harassment of blacks as the trial progressed, in situations that might not have ended so tragically for whites.

But the moment Chauvin was taken to a jail cell, with his hands handcuffed behind his back, brought relief and, in some places, disbelief.

It validated a social and political movement, championed by celebrities and athletes, that spread around the world after Floyd's assassination last May and that brought citizens of all ethnicities to the streets during a pandemic to demand justice.

This is monumental, this is historical.

This is a pivotal moment in history, ”Floyd's brother Philonese told CNN's Sara Sidner.

advertising

Brandon Williams, Floyd's nephew, poignantly noted that many black men and women still live in fear every day.

"So when I say that today is a pivotal moment, it is an opportunity for the United States to take a turn in the right direction," he said.

Kamala Harris reacts to the verdict against Derek Chauvin 2:45

All eyes to the Senate

"We can't stop here," President Joe Biden said at the White House, calling Tuesday's verdict a "very rare" step forward for black men.

Vice President Kamala Harris said, "We are all part of George Floyd's legacy and our job now is to honor that and honor him."

The method for making the most fundamental set of changes to the police in a generation, George Floyd's Police Justice Act, is already in the Senate. Democrats say it would end racial and religious discrimination, ban neck braces for suspects, eliminate search warrants in drug cases, facilitate prosecution of offending police officers and review police training to build confidence in the communities in which officers serve. However, his path is challenging given the opposition of many Republicans to the concept of Washington setting federal standards for police.

It was noted that, amid a torrent of Democratic reaction to Chauvin's sentencing, there were few remarks from Republicans, months after a general election in which former President Donald Trump tried to paint the protests over Floyd's death as a symptom of left anarchy.

His extremism is in line with what former Republican President George W. Bush called "nativist" sentiment in the party on Tuesday.

Many Republicans, who can stop the bill with obstructionist blocking tactics, are more interested in stating that all Democrats agree with their more radical members on calls to abolish the police force.

As the jury wrapped up deliberations Tuesday, Republicans were obsessed with a motion of no confidence in the House of Representatives accusing California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of inciting violence during the trial.

Even the most moderate Republicans can take the position that the justice system worked to sentence Chauvin and that further changes may not be necessary.

"I have confidence in our justice system and in the great institutions that have always formed the foundation of our society, obviously pleased that I hope the temperature is lowered a little," Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, one of those Republicans, told CNN. moderate.

Rep. Karen Bass, one of the authors of the bill named after Floyd, said the verdict gave her hope for the legislation as she continues informal talks with her Republican colleagues about a possible compromise. But there is still a huge gap between Democrats and Republicans on qualified immunity reform, which protects police officers in civilian courts. And there is still no guarantee that all Democrats in the 50-50 Senate will agree.

With his speech after the verdict at the White House alongside Harris, and in his phone call promising action to Floyd's family who was captured on camera, Biden seems fully committed to police reform. It has previously been questioned how much political capital a new president with a massive agenda and a historic affinity with the police would commit to pass legislation with a seemingly unpromising path.

Perhaps in a nod to the intense political pressure he faces, as president who owes his victory in last year's election largely to black voters, Biden said publicly on Tuesday that he was praying for the correct verdict, all while the jury was still there. he was deliberating.

The nationwide reaction to Chauvin's sentencing is likely to generate high expectations for the president and a wave of momentum that could change the political atmosphere, if handled skillfully.

1 of 16

|

This is how they celebrated in Minneapolis, at the intersection of 38th Avenue and Chicago Avenue, the site of George Floyd's death in May 2020. (Credit: Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

2 of 16

|

People react outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis after the news (Credit: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images)

3 of 16

|

Adi Armor cries at the verdict in Milwaukee.

(Credit: Angela Peterson / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Imagn Content Services)

4 of 16

|

People celebrate as the verdict in Derek Chauvin's trial is announced outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis.

(Credit: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images)

5 of 16

|

People take to the streets in Minneapolis after reading the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.

(Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images)

6 of 16

|

This is how they reacted outside the Hennepin County Government Center after the jury's decision in the case against Derek Chauvin was known.

(Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images)

7 of 16

|

A group of people embrace as the verdict is announced in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

(Credit: Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images)

8 of 16

|

A person celebrates the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House on April 20, 2021 in Washington.

(Credit: Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images)

9 of 16

|

Representatives Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley embrace as members of the Congressional Black Caucus address a press conference following the verdict in the George Floyd death trial.

(Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

10 of 16

|

A man celebrates as the verdict is announced outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis.

(Credit: Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images)

11 of 16

|

The hugs multiplied outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis.

(Credit: Carlos Barria / Reuters)

12 of 16

|

In Houston, Texas, neighbors also reacted to the verdict.

(Credit: Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images)

13 of 16

|

In Brooklyn, New York, the reading of the jury's verdict was also followed closely.

(Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

14 of 16

|

A young woman reacts to the verdict in Minneapolis.

(Credit: Adrees Latif / Reuters)

15 of 16

|

People celebrate in Minneapolis at the place where George Floyd was killed.

(Credit: Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

16 of 16

|

People also celebrated the verdict in Minneapolis' George Floyd Plaza.

(Credit: Octavio Jones / Reuters)

The attitude of police unions, forces and individual agents will also be central to the hopes of civil rights activists for a cultural change.

Prosecutors made it clear in their closing arguments in the Chauvin case that they were trying individual officers, not all officers.

And the case was highlighted by the parade of fellow police officers who lined up to testify against their former colleague and repudiate his conduct.

"The main question is, will we let politics divide us?" Floyd family attorney L. Chris Stewart asked Tuesday.

Because that's what happens.

Republican or Democrat, you will stay on your side.

Unite… and get this bill passed and save people so they don't have to plug their cities for situations like this. "

• Here's what's next for Derek Chauvin after being convicted of George Floyd's death

Hopefully Floyd's death can end a tragic sequence

Countless leaders and activists, along with the president of the United States, underscored the point Tuesday that a verdict cannot bring about the radical change necessary in American society to eradicate the brutality and prejudice faced daily by people of color in their treatment. with the police.

Poignantly invoking his point, the activists named some of the thousands of other lost young men and women, including Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor and Philando Castile.

The harsh reality that police killings have continued even after a year of public outrage has been underscored by the recent deaths of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, killed by veteran police in the Brooklyn Center suburb of Minneapolis, and of Adam Toledo, 13, shot by a Chicago police officer in response to reports of shooting after a chase in a dark alley in March.

Leading figures from former President Barack Obama to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison emphasized that there is a long road ahead that will depend on the willingness of Americans to keep up the pressure as they seek an end to senseless killings at the hands of women. law enforcement agencies.

Ellison, who led the team that prosecuted Chauvin, said he could not call the verdict justice, because that would imply “a real restoration.

But it is accountability, which is the first step towards justice, "he said.

• "Verdict against Chauvin does not change anything, we want justice for Adam Toledo, Breonna Taylor and Daunte Wright", says protester

"Now the cause of justice is in your hands, and when I say 'your hands' I mean the hands of the American people," Ellison said during a news conference.

BJ Wilder, a 39-year-old Minneapolis resident who heard the verdict with other jubilant protesters in George Floyd Square, was one of many activists who hoped that Chauvin's sentencing would be a turning point leading to an already awakening in America. the responsibility of police misconduct.

This is something else.

This is new, ”Wilder told CNN's Omar Jiménez moments after the verdict.

"We've been here so many times before and honestly the first thing I really thought about was the Rodney King situation," he said, referring to the acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers who had beaten King, an event that sparked the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

And I thought it might have been something similar to that, just because we all saw it too.

And this feels, it just feels like we can breathe.

This feels like something new.

Hopefully it's a new day in America.

CNN's Maeve Reston contributed to this report.

Derek Chauvin