Chauvin Guilty Verdict Reached; FL Leaders, Organizations React

FLORIDA — In the hours after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minnesota Tuesday, various Florida leaders and organizations embraced the guilty verdict on social media.

“The hope, the anger and the grief of our nation and the entire world hung on today’s verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava said in a video shared on Twitter. “Justice was delivered today, not just for George Floyd’s family and loved ones, but for all of those who marched, who protested, who prayed for justice for months after his senseless deaths.”

Levine Cava called Floyd’s death “a wake-up call” for Americans “to confront vividly and unmistakably the realities of racism and the racist treatment endured by Black people in America every day.”

She vowed to continue pushing for police reforms and “to stamp out racism” in the county’s police department.

Miami’s new police Chief Art Acevedo, who previously led the Houston Police Department, also spoke out about the guilty verdict. Since Floyd’s death, he has stepped up as a national figure pushing for police reform amidst nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

“Tonight, all Americans should breathe a collective sigh of relief as justice has been served in the death of (George Floyd,)” he tweeted. “Police officers throughout our nation saw the same injustice in his death, that his family (and) the communities we serve saw. Let’s move forward in peace (and) unity.”

The NBA’s Miami Heat also tweeted about Chauvin’s guilty verdict.

“Today, the ‘arc of the moral universe,’ of which Dr. (Martin Luther) King Jr. spoke, has bent towards justice. The Miami HEAT joins people all around the world in acknowledging and affirming the outcome of the trial in Minneapolis, which has rightfully dealt out severe condemnation for the senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer,” the team posted.

ACLU of Florida, who has recently criticized HB1, Florida’s new “anti-riot” bill criminalizing mass protests, also chimed in about Chauvin’s conviction on social media.

“For the first time in Minnesota history, a white police officer has been held accountable for killing a Black man,” the nonprofit tweeted. “While today’s verdict is a small win for police accountability and may help heal a grieving community, the systems that allowed George to be murdered — ripping him away from his family and the communities that loved him so much — remain fully intact.”

In St. Petersburg, Mayor Rick Kriseman posted about the historic verdict.

“Justice. It should have never come to this. But, finally, justice. Let us not forget how much work we still have to do,” he wrote on Facebook.

U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), who served as Orlando’s first female chief of police, released a statement on the trial’s long-awaited outcome.

“Justice has prevailed. But this is not a happy day, because this day never should have happened. George Floyd’s life mattered, and but for the tragic actions of Derek Chauvin, Mr. Floyd would be alive,” she said. “Law enforcement exists to uphold a sacred trust. I am grateful for the hundreds of thousands who remember their oath and do the job well every day. As we heal as a nation we must not rest. We must continue to have a sense of urgency to come together and work together with one purpose in mind: to do better.”

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), who represents portions of Pinellas County, also released a statement after Chauvin’s verdict.

“Today, the family and loved ones of George Floyd are in my thoughts as our nation witnesses finally being served for tragic and all too familiar murder of an unarmed Black man,” Crist said. “Chauvin broke his promise to serve and protect the people of Minneapolis and for his actions he has been held accountable. Our nation now has one less bad cop out on the street, and while I join millions of Americans in breathing a sigh of relief, there is still so much more we must do.”