Valley leaders react to Chauvin verdict
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
After three guilty verdicts were returned Tuesday against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, leaders across the Mon Valley were quick to offer their support for the decision.
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pinning Floyd, a 45-year-old Black man, to the pavement May 25, 2020, with his knee on the man’s neck.
Floyd died as a result of the incident, sparking protests across the globe and putting systemic racism and policing back in the headlines.
State Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, said there’s still much more work to do.
“Today was the end of this trial, but the beginning of so much more,” Davis posted on Facebook. “While seeing the defendant put his hands behind his back after being found guilty was powerful and correct, it reminded me of how many other individuals have unjustly had to do the same.
“Today we can celebrate this first step, but tomorrow we get to work honoring George Floyd and countless others by reforming policing and our criminal justice system in Pennsylvania and the United States #LetsWork.”
Local attorney and solicitor Steven Toprani said true justice will be served when society demands police reform and racial inclusion.
“Today a single police officer was held accountable by a jury of his peers for his depraved and brutal acts,” Toprani wrote on social media. “In the end, Chauvin received every constitutional protection he denied his victim. But true justice will only come when we as a society demand police reform, seek racial inclusion and work together to make sure minor police contacts with unarmed black men do not result in deaths. Justice for George Floyd requires all of our work to eradicate racism everywhere.”
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