Biden, Harris slam ‘systemic racism’ in US, say Chauvin guilty verdict is ‘giant step’ toward racial justice

The guilty verdict in the homicide trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin “can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America,” President Biden and Vice President Harris stated Tuesday.

That march, they added, has too hardly ever delivered “basic accountability” for Black Americans. 

America has a “long history of systemic racism,” they stated, calling it a “stain on the nation’s soul.”

A panel of jurors discovered Chauvin guilty on Tuesday on all three prices in reference to the May 2020 demise of George Floyd — the Black man in Minnesota who died after he was seen on video – handcuffed – saying “I can’t breathe” as Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck.

JURY FINDS CHAUVIN GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES IN GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH

Floyd’s demise sparked nationwide protests final spring and summer time over police brutality in opposition to minorities and systemic racism.

Chauvin, 45, was charged with second-degree unintentional homicide, third-degree homicide and second-degree manslaughter. After the jury introduced the verdict, Chauvin’s bail was instantly revoked and he was led away with fingers cuffed behind his again.

Biden and Harris, following the verdict, took the rostrum on the White House. 

Harris, talking first, thanking the jury, and the Floyd household, saying the verdict introduced “a sigh of relief” however “cannot take away the pain.” 

“A measure of justice is not the same as equal justice,” Harris stated. “This verdict brings us a step closer and the fact is we still have work to do. We still must reform the system.” 

Harris added: “America has a long history of systemic racism.” 

‘Ripped the blinders off’

Biden then took the rostrum, saying Floyd’s homicide was one “in the full light of day.” 

“It ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism,” Biden stated. “Systemic racism — a stain on our nation’s soul.” 

“The knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans — profound fear and trauma, the pain, exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day,” Biden stated. “The murder of George Floyd launched a summer of protest we hadn’t seen since the Civil Rights [era] in the ’60s.” 

Biden stated that the protests “unified people of every race and generation in peace and with purpose to say, ‘Enough, enough, enough of these senseless killings.'” 

“This can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America,” he stated. 

BIDEN TELLS FLOYD FAMILY ‘NOW THERE’S SOME JUSTICE’ AFTER CHAUVIN GUILTY VERDICT

Biden touted officers for “testifying against a fellow officer,” saying they “should be commended,” and the jury who “carried out their civic duty in the midst of an extraordinary moment, under extraordinary pressure.” 

“For so many, it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver just, just basic accountability,” Biden stated, including that “racial disparities” exist in “policing and in our criminal justice system more broadly.” 

Policing invoice in Congress

Harris, throughout her remarks, pointed to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which she launched final summer time — together with fellow Democrats Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Rep. Karen Bass of California — to “hold law enforcement accountable and build trust between law enforcement and communities.” 

“This bill is part of George Floyd’s legacy,” Harris stated, urging the Senate to move the invoice “not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start.” 

Biden, in referencing the invoice, known as for congressional motion, whereas saying that the management of the Justice Department was “fully committed to restoring trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to serve and protect.”

Meanwhile, Biden stated Floyd’s “legacy” ought to be “one of peace, not violence.” 

“Peaceful expression of that legacy are inevitable and appropriate, but violent protest is not,” Biden stated. “And there are those who will seek to exploit the raw emotions of the moment, agitators and extremists who have no interest in social justice, who seek to carry out violence, destroy property, fan the flames of hate and division– who will do everything in their power to stop this country’s march toward racial justice.”

He added: “We can’t let them succeed.” 

Biden stated this was a time for the nation “to come together to unite as Americans.” 

“We can never be any safe harbor for hate in America,” the president stated. 

The House voted alongside occasion traces final month to move the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The wide-ranging invoice would overhaul requirements for police techniques and conduct on the federal degree.

Prominent measures embrace a federal ban on no-knock warrants and chokeholds, limits on certified immunity shielding police from civil lawsuits, a framework to forestall racial profiling and the institution of a nationwide registry on allegations of police misconduct.

The invoice is awaiting consideration in the Senate, the place it is anticipated to face stiff opposition from GOP lawmakers. The House beforehand handed a model of the reform invoice final June, simply weeks after Floyd’s demise prompted nationwide protests in opposition to police brutality. Republicans opposed the invoice and it later stalled in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Meanwhile, shortly after the verdict was delivered Tuesday afternoon, Biden and Harris known as the Floyd household, celebrating the jury’s choice. 

‘Day of justice’

“Nothing is going to make it all better, but at least now there’s some justice,” Biden is heard saying on speaker telephone in a video posted to Twitter on Tuesday by legal professional Ben Crump. “We’re going to start to change now. We’re going to start to change now.” 

Harris, in the course of the name, stated: “This is a day of justice in America.” 

Harris added that “in George’s name and memory we are going to make sure his legacy is in tact and that history will look back at this moment and know that this is an inflection moment.”

“He had to sacrifice so much and your family did too,” Harris stated. “But we believe, with your leadership and, and the president that we have in the White House, that we’re going to make something good come out of this tragedy, OK?” 

Biden, because the jury started deliberations, stated he was “praying the verdict is the right verdict.”

Biden, on Monday, spoke to the Floyd household after the jury was sequestered, and stated he understands what it is like “to go through loss.”

“They’re a good family, and they’re calling for peace and tranquility, no matter what that verdict is,” Biden stated. “I’m praying that verdict is the right verdict, which I think it’s overwhelming, in my view. I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered now.” 

Biden additionally known as the Floyd household final yr – quickly after Floyd’s demise, which got here in the course of the 2020 presidential election marketing campaign – and later the then-presidential candidate traveled to Houston to fulfill with the household and categorical is condolences. (Floyd lived in Houston earlier than shifting to Minneapolis.)

Judge slams Waters

On Monday, the judge in the Chauvin trial stated that he wished elected officers would cease referencing the case “especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law” in order to let the judicial course of play out as supposed.

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Judge Peter Cahill was referring to controversial feedback over the weekend by Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who traveled to Minnesota and urged protesters there to “stay in the street” and “get more confrontational” if Chauvin was not discovered guilty.

“I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Cahill instructed Chauvin’s legal professional.

Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell criticized the feedback by each Biden and Waters.

The longtime senator from Kentucky famous on Tuesday afternoon that “sometimes a fair trial is difficult to conduct” earlier than emphasizing that “it is certainly not helpful for a member of Congress, and even the president of the U.S. to appear to be weighing in in public, while the jury is trying to sort through this significant case.”