Biden says ‘relieved’ at guilty verdict for police officer in George Floyd death

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Francesca Chambers, Alex Roarty
·3 min read
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President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he was “relieved” that a jury delivered a guilty verdict on all three charges against former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

The verdict marks one of the major early moments of Biden’s presidency, touching on issues of racial justice and police violence that have roiled the nation since Floyd’s death last May.

“We’re all so relieved, not just one verdict, but all three, guilty on all three counts,”

Biden said to the Floyd family in a video of the conversation posted on Twitter by the family’s attorney.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris watched the verdict with staff in the private dining room at the White House. After the verdict, Biden, Harris and first lady Jill Biden spoke with Floyd’s family from the Oval Office, the White House said.

Harris told the Floyd family, “we’re going to make something good come out of this tragedy.”

Biden earlier in the day told reporters that he had spoken with Floyd’s family on Monday, trying to console them ahead of the emotionally charged decision in a case that has drawn international attention. The president said Floyd’s family had called for “peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is.”

The president also expressed views about the verdict before it was reached, saying he was sharing his opinion only because the jury had been sequestered.

“I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict,” Biden said. “Which is – I think it’s overwhelming, in my view.”

Chauvin was accused of killing Floyd last year in Minneapolis, after putting his knee on Floyd’s neck until he lost consciousness. The incident, recorded on video, sparked a wave of protests that swept cities nationwide, with demonstrators demanding immediate changes to laws on police conduct.

The verdict increases pressure on the president and his Democratic Party to pass sweeping police reform legislation, such as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which is supported by civil rights groups.

The bill would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants and end “qualified immunity” for police officers while boosting federal oversight of state and local police forces.

Biden reiterated to the Floyd family after the verdict was read in a Minnesota courtroom that he supported the legislation.

“This is going to be our first shot at dealing with genuine systemic racism,” he said.

Biden called for a “national ban on chokeholds” as a candidate, and the White House on Tuesday said Biden’s position was the same as when he was campaigning. The Department of Justice has supported the use of warrantless raids in limited circumstances.

“The same way a reasonable police officer would never suffocate an unarmed man to death, a reasonable justice system would recognize its roots in white supremacy and end qualified immunity,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement immediately after the verdict. “Police are here to protect, not lynch. We will not rest until all in our community have the right to breathe.”

Earlier this month, White House officials announced they were abandoning plans to create a commission to study police reform, saying that they wanted instead to put the focus on trying to pass the George Floyd Act.

Floyd’s death and the racial justice protests that subsequently swept the nation were a major issue in the 2020 presidential election, with Biden promising changes to law enforcement but rebutting calls from liberal activists to defund their departments.

Biden, as a candidate, sought to strike a balance between the competing demands of a liberal base that wanted far-reaching changes to police oversight and more moderate voters who generally support the police.

“It was the knee on the neck of justice, and it wouldn’t be forgotten. It stirred the conscience of tens of millions of Americans, and, in my view, it marked a turning point in this country’s attitude toward racial justice,” Biden said of Floyd’s death in January, days after taking office.

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