#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Derek Chauvin Murder Verdict

Episode Date: April 21, 2021

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on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, folks, Roland Martin here with Roland Martin Unfiltered. Just a few moments ago, guilty verdict, all three charges. Derek Chauvin, guilty in the murder of George Floyd. Clearly, he expected that as he was led away in handcuffs, did not show any reaction whatsoever. Our legal panel is ready. Bernardo Villalona, Senior Trial Counsel, Joey Jackson Law Firm, A. Scott Bolden, former chair, National Bar Association Political Action Committee, Terrain Bailey, attorney, Bailey Law Firm, Monique Presley, lawyer, crisis manager. Glad to have all four of you here.

Let's get right into it. Scott Bolden, any surprise, any shock with this? Clearly, Derek Chauvin expected that. You saw his reaction, pretty much no reaction, even as he was handcuffed and led away. Yeah, his defense attorney prepped him for that. You know, they were out eight to ten hours. That's not enough to come back with a defense verdict. And so once they said they were ready and they didn't ask any questions whatsoever the defense was presenting. They bought into the prosecution's case. They read the video. They watched the video. And the irony here, if anything, Roland, is that we were all holding our breath on a case that should have been a no-brainer,

and he probably should have taken a plea on. But he went through with it. We got it. And we're all extremely pleased with this verdict because justice was done. We've seen so many times when justice wasn't done with the police. Money on that particular point, Scott makes. I mean, that's why people are holding their breath. We simply have not trusted juries when the cops have gone on trial for killing black men. We can't hear you, Monica. You are muted. Unmute, please.

Now we got you. Yeah, we got you. Now we got you. You said something about not being able to trust the jury. Yeah, people were nervous because, frankly, we've seen how this has gone before. Well, absolutely. I mean, there was every reason to be on pins and needles, even when it was, as Scott said, an open and shut case. And when I was on yesterday, I wasn't even willing to hedge about it. All I was willing to say is the prosecution did an excellent job,

one of the best jobs that I've seen in a police case or otherwise. They were methodical. They were thorough. They set the right tone. They hit all of the key elements for each and every charge. And obviously, this jury got it. I mean, they spent some time deliberating last night, went out there one night, free hotel stay and meal meal and came back and got down to business today. And I'm sure that they were ready perhaps long before we knew that they were ready because I know that the city of Minnesota wanted kids home from school and wanted everything safe before we got this verdict. So this is a right decision.

Let's go to Bernarda. Bernarda, your assessment. First of all, folks, I'm getting someone else's voice in my ear here, so please. Bernarda, just your assessment of this live feed that's going out. Not much of a reaction from the audience out there. Obviously, folks were hopeful that this was going to be the decision and not guilty. Folks were very afraid of what could happen all across the country. Police have been on standby. Governor Jay Pritzker in Illinois put the National Guard

on alert by the suggestion of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Here, we're literally catacorne to 16th and K, Black Lives Matter Plaza. They shut down parking all around where we're located. There are signs on the polls saying First Amendment activity. I think here in the nation's capital, and in fact, one thing that D.C. did, they've got massive construction actually taking place right now on Black Lives Matter Plaza. I'm quite sure that construction was not planned to begin yesterday. Roland Martin, what I have to say is that the people of the state of Minnesota have spoken. The people of Hennepin County have spoken. Now the world has heard from a jury of 12,

a jury of Derek Chauvin's fear, a jury from Hennepin County, that what you are, Derek Chauvin's fear. A jury from Hennepin County that what you are, Derek Chauvin, is guilty. Guilty on all charges. Justice has been done in this case. Derek Chauvin got a fair trial. The jury looked at the evidence, applied the credible evidence to the law, and they determined that based on everything, that beyond a reasonable doubt, the prosecution has proven that Derek Chauvin is guilty of murder in the second degree, murder in the third degree, and manslaughter as well. So the jury has spoken, and now it is official that clout that you have, that you're innocent until proven guilty, is now gone. You have been found guilty for betraying that badge that you held for for so long. Terri-Ann, remember when the Hennepin County DA came out, remember they actually reduced the charges, and then it was Attorney General Keith

Ellison who took over this case from the DA, and they reinstated one of those charges. We have got to absolutely give credit to A.G. Keith Ellison. People got to remember, he left his position in Congress to run for Minnesota Attorney General. If people want to understand why AGs matter, this is a perfect example of when you have an Attorney General who is Black, who gives a damn, unlike Daniel Cameron, the Republican Attorney General in Kentucky.

Absolutely. For the first time in 29 years, the Black community can actually exhale. We've been waiting for this moment, for this verdict. So, Martin Luther King's verdict came out April 29, 1992. And finally, we got it. And we got it across the board. And I think that speaks volumes to the work that this jury did. As in my history as a defense attorney, any time a jury comes back that quickly, you know it's not good for you. That means no one's in that room fighting for you. And it's pretty impressive that this jury fought so hard. They worked late into the night. They stayed an extra hour into the evening and came back early this morning, which means they were serious about this verdict and they wanted to get to the right conclusion.

So this is a moment for us. When I think we lost Scott. Let me know, folks, we have Scott back. He's still there. Murder perpetrating an eminently dangerous act. Okay. Monique, what we're looking at here is also, remember, Jason Van Dyke was convicted in the murder of Laquan McDonald, but that was also on a reduced charge. And there was a lot of people who were not, you know, obviously happy about that, that he may only serve five years in prison for that. Chauvin, convicted on all three, is facing up to 40 years in prison.

Oh, and he's going to get them because they're not going to just ask for what they can get on each charge. They're looking, you know, to increase due to aggravation on each of those because of the depravity and the cruelty of his conduct. So it's going to be a rough road for sentencing. And that's why I said when yesterday his lawyer had to read to him in court and make sure that he understood that he's choosing to leave it in the hands of the judge to make a determination about the enhancement. And he has decided to leave it to the judge. That was his best bet. They could read this jury way better than any of us could because if it had been left to the jury to determine it, they probably would have been trying to assess enhancements and say it was beyond reasonable doubt for each and every one of those charges.

This jury had a made up mind. Let's go to Reddit Hudson. He is co-founder of the National Coalition of Law Enforcement. We lost Reddit. OK, let me know when we get Reddit back, because he's with the National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice, Reform and Accountability. So let me know when we have him back. The thing here that I think is we've talked about this terrain that that the methodical approach taken by the prosecution completely cornered the defense at every turn. You've been critical of the defense put up, but the reality is they, I mean, the prosecution was so methodical that you watch it and they just cut them off at their knees

and pretty much left them no escape routes to be able to put reasonable doubt in the minds of these jurors. The prosecution did a fantastic job, and that pains me to say, but they did a fantastic job of locking that. And just for our audience, folks, she's a defense attorney. And so a defense attorney never likes to give prosecutors any credit whatsoever. Well, I have to give credit where credit is due.

They did a very good job of locking in this case and outlining for the jury step by step, right down to George Floyd's compliance, right down to how the situation escalated, right down to the unreasonableness of the actions and what the defense failed to do. I mean, I know there's some argument out there that they did a very good job on the reasonable officer standard, but where they failed on that is that they failed to take into account if what they were preaching, but this is reasonable and any officer acting like this would be acting reasonably against the black community. And that's something I just couldn't see fine with this jury. They set the tone for this case as one where they did not see George Floyd as a human and they did not recognize the black community when we said enough is enough.

So many different reactions that are coming in that we're actually seeing. Folks, this here is a live feed from the Associated Press. Folks there in Minneapolis, in just a few moments, Attorney General Keith Ellison is going to be addressing the media. We also are expecting to hear from the George Floyd family, attorney Ben Crump. We're also expecting to hear from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris with regards to this verdict. Bernarda, again, to the point that Duran just made there, Duran just made there, is that the prosecution, how they put this together, how they assembled the case,

totally different than how Angela Corey prosecuted the Trayvon Martin case. Totally different than how we've seen some of these other cases where the defense was able to really get in some shots

and create that reasonable doubt. The Slager trial, where they had a mistrial there when he was on trial for killing Walter Scott. That's really what was, I think, was so critical here. So Roland, what made a difference, and Roland, you know I was a prosecutor for 16 years, three years in Philadelphia and 13 years in Brooklyn, and I was in the Homicide Bureau for 10 years in Brooklyn. So what made this case different than any other case? The number one reason why it turned out differently is because the Attorney General was able to compile a team of 14 prosecutors. You got to think Mr. Blackwell, as well as Mr. Slusher, both of them are not prosecutors. They were appointed as special

prosecutors to take part in this prosecution. So that made a huge difference. You don't see that happening. It is very rare. But Attorney General, good for him for being able to acknowledge that his office alone wouldn't be able to do it, especially since an Attorney General's office doesn't deal with homicide cases. It's more of a county prosecutor that deals with the homicide cases. So he was able to see that and compile a team of 14 with lead attorneys that specialize in medical malpractice, which was so huge in this case, especially since Manning and cause of death were at issue. So that is a huge difference in this case than the other case in the Trayvon Martin case. I remember that case, and I was so upset because that prosecutor got outlawed, hands down. That shouldn't have happened.

Reddit Hudson, I want to bring you in right now. Folks, the live feed that you're seeing right now is a live feed from Minneapolis in the plaza. It's right across from the courtroom. Read it. You said on our show just the other day that the only way these things change is when these cops are held accountable, when they are convicted, and when they go to prison. Derek Chauvin was walked out of that courtroom in handcuffs. He is going to be sentenced in a few weeks. He is headed to prison for the death of George Floyd.

Which is where he should be headed. And Godspeed to him. I hope they get him there yesterday. And I hope he spends the rest of his natural life behind bars for the murder he committed in front of us. And, yes, that is the best training that you can offer to police officers that remain on the Minneapolis Police Department is the sentencing, the conviction and sentencing of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd will be an excellent training tool for officers who remain on that department, that you can't take human life in a depraved and sadistic fashion that Derek Chauvin did and expect that you're going to walk.

Consistency now is the thing. I think that we can all feel good that this verdict was reached, but the work still continues, as you know. We have to look at the systems that have police in positions to make these kinds of choices around the country. This is a rare, guilty verdict. Many times officers walk. So we have to continue to do the work of breaking down

the systemic racism that's at the foundation of our criminal justice apparatus nationwide, whether you're talking about the police or the courts, and continue to call for accountability for those officers who violate our human rights and civil rights and civil liberties like Derek Schultz. I'm glad to see him go. The defense team tried, read it, to say, look, this was his training. Things sort of got out of hand. But you heard the chief testify. You heard the use of force specialist testify. No, that violated the training there. That to me is also critical because what it is saying to a lot of other cops, and in fact, remember right after the George Floyd murder, there was a protest somewhere,

and there was a cop who was kneeling on a guy's neck, and you heard the protesters, get off his neck, get off his neck, and another cop hit his knee and said, move your knee. That is a result of stuff like this. And the power that rests in officers holding each other accountable, particularly as we've

said a hundred times on this show, Roland, officers that come from marginalized communities, from black communities, from LGBTQ communities, from native communities. Man, if you come from that community and you are now empowered to serve alongside of officers who are abusing the people in the community you serve,

you are empowered to hold them accountable and recreate and remake that culture. And we're starting to see that across the country. I'm seeing more and more voices emerge, black officers in particular, calling for a remake of police culture and addressing the racism in it directly. It has to happen, and we have the power to make that happen. Whether you're a current officer or a former officer, you can do that, and it's our responsibility to get that done. In fact, Reddit, just the other day, saw it in response to uh the dante wright murder a white cop saying did put a video out explaining how you confusing a taser with a gun so i mean so and this guy went on i was like yo i want to see good cops he was like strong over here weak over here i mean

he was indignant uh as a result of that. I saw that, and he should have been because that officer's excuse is ridiculous, man. She's a 26-year veteran. She's a training officer. How did she confuse a weapon that she retrieved from her weak side and pointed

and aimed it for several seconds before she fired it? If you remember the video, she's trying to avoid hitting the officer who for a moment obscured her target. And then she pulls the trigger. That officer was absolutely right. And that's the weight and power of the voices of people in law enforcement calling for accountability

and holding each other accountable. But we have a lot of systemic work to do, Colin. You know, this is one verdict. But we've seen nationally for generations the systemic racism that is at the foundation of police culture is the thing that has to be addressed. And we have to look at how we do public safety, period, now. Defund is still on the table. Whatever that means to different people, I think it will be allocating resources to areas in our community that will better help us provide public safety, jobs, income, health care,

mental health care, especially education, all of the things that have been systemically defunded already and intentionally need to be refunded, and we need to look at how we do public safety, period. But Derek Chauvin is a prime example of someone who expected, fully expected, that he was going to casually murder a man and walk. Now he's taking his ignorant ass to prison where he belongs. Reddit Hudson, I certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. We are going to, I know you're there in the car. We're going to try to pull you in later with the law enforcement experts. And so we'll hit you back in just a second. I'm going to go back to my legal panel there. And Terrain, Monique, and Bernardo,

the thing that I can't help but reflect on is watching that video of Derek Chauvin, hands in his pocket, kneeling, that the man is yelling, I can't breathe. And the arrogance of, I'm going to keep my hands in my pocket. The indifference. And Monique made this point yesterday, and Terrina, I want you to speak to this. The defense kept playing it over and over and over.

It was like, thank you. Y'all are re-informed. I appreciate that defense. They played that video over and over again to no benefit to their side. And you have to wonder, what did you think you were going to get? Were you taking this arrogant position like, yeah, he did it and it was reasonable? And if you think about it, if you listen to that closing argument yesterday, there were so many dog whistles in it. That defense attorney talked about the reasonableness of that officer going into an urban community,

addressing a large black man who was still on scene. There was so many dog whistles. That closing was laden with so many dog whistles. And then he wants to say this is reasonable. When you look at the totality and the circumstances under the use of force doctrine, that this was reasonable. He was telling every officer it is okay. It is okay to abuse and to savagely just lay your knee into a man's neck until you take the life out of him. I couldn't understand why he kept showing that video and just proving the prosecution's case. Monique? Well, and look at the arrogance in that.

So I've, as just, you know, I have defended as a criminal defense attorney, starting out indigent defendants and then defendants who weren't indigent. But I also, for 11 years in civil courts, defended a municipality, including police department. And when I tell you that there was a complete miscalculation on the part of defense counsel, I mean, their strategy, if I'm being generous calling it a a strategy from start to finish was failed. And I don't I don't accept from anyone who says hard case, not much to work with. What the hell did you go to law school for this? Listen, the whole point is supposed to be that as defense counsel, you have nothing to prove and your entire job is to poke holes into the heavy, heavy burden of the prosecution. What we watched at play here today, in the culmination today, was when the state does what it's supposed to do and brings all the power of its office to bear when they have infinite

resources for investigation, for effort, for getting outside counsel that, as my other panelists said, and forgive me for not, wait a minute, I want to get her name right, Taryn was saying that they volunteered their time. No, because you can't do your systems like that. We just can't remember their names. That's not right. Volunteered their time, you know, came out of successful practices to come in and take on this case. But but that is the heavy power of the state that defense attorneys are up against every time they go into the courtroom. What has been happening previously is that the state's attorney's offices, the DAs, were not utilizing their power.

They weren't wielding their power appropriately. They dropped a hammer and three extra hammers this time. And then we have the defense, which looks like they're trying to put themselves out to be David and Goliath. They weren't. The unions raised millions. They had money to put forth a better case. They didn't believe in this case. And I think that it's because they had a hideous defendant. Because if they hadn't, he would have taken that stand and whined and cried and fallen out and hyperventilated and apologized he would have done anything in the world he could to spare his life that stoic look he had today they didn't prep him i heard some other people on some other some other channel saying he was well prepped and that's why he took it so well. That's the way he looked when he was killing a man.

That's who he is. He didn't prep for today. He is completely detached from these circumstances because for him, he cannot imagine that he did not have the power to do what he did. So I do hope, let me just throw out what I could never say in court. I hope this sends a message. I hope this teaches a lesson. I hope that this is chilling. I hope

that this is an effect across the country where everybody understands who's wearing a badge, carrying, hello, a taser on one side and a Glock on the other. You don't get to do whatever it is you want to do without accountability. You will be charged and then pay for your actions because in one of the whitest places in America, a jury that was majority not of color, found easily, handily, guilty, guilty, guilty. I'm a little hyped. I'm gonna give somebody else a turn. Forgive me.

Duran, go ahead. You are absolutely right. We are trained as defense attorneys from day one. You know you're, you know you are willing to go to jail to defend your client. And that didn't happen here. He had no plan on what he was going to do. Absolutely no plan. And he did not prep his client on what to do once they took that mask off yesterday. He looked as menacing when he took that mask off yesterday as he did when his knee was on George Floyd's neck.

He should have put it back on today when he was waiting for the verdict. Just there's no warmth emanated from him. And that's a failure to humanize your client. I mean, we have all as defense attorneys sit next to someone who others consider a monster. Our job is to humanize them, give them some type of humanity. And that did not happen. And maybe, you know, this Derek Chauvin person is someone who you cannot find humanity for, but that is your job.

Well, and I, and Bernard, I think that's the whole deal here. I mean, the bottom line is this here. Look, it's not like when the jury read that verdict, he didn't drop his head. He didn't sit here, shake. No, no, no. He didn't drop his head. He didn't sit here, shake. No, no, no. He knew his ass was guilty. Mm-hmm. He was completely emotionally detached.

I definitely peeped it yesterday when Derek Chauvin wasn't wearing the mask. And I was like, wait, hold up. This is a defense trial strategy that doing this entire trial, doing three weeks of jury selection, doing three weeks of testimony, you had a mask on, but you waited until closing arguments while your attorney was arguing some foolishness to take off your mask and let the jury see you. This is the problem with that. You had the same exact face as you did when you had your knee on the neck of George Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds. I understand and see what you were trying to do. However, you can't have him looking the same at trial as

he's doing in the video. You wanted to give them a different look, a different perception of this is who Derek Chauvin is. What I found so insulting, and I find it so insulting, throughout his entire closing argument.

Just hold tight one second. Hold tight one second. Control room, let me know when we have the feed. Attorney general Keith Ellison is talking right now. Let me know when we actually have the feed. I'm not going to be able to get to the entire closing argument. Hold tight one second. Control room, let me know when we have the feed.

Attorney general Keith Ellison is talking right now. Let me know when we actually have that feed so we can go live to it again. Attorney general Keith Ellison is addressing the media as we speak.

And so if my folks can shoot me the link, we can go live to it. So please let me know when we can do that. Keenan, drop the link in group me if you can, please, with that AP feed of Keith Ellison. So this feed here is outside, but Keith Ellison is actually, I'm watching another feed. So if y'all can get me that other feed of Ellison speaking, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I got you. Go ahead and finish your comments, please, so I can, as we're trying to track this. So, Roland, what I found so insulting and disrespecting is that Eric Nelson, during his entire trial, kept on putting it on that Derek Chauvin was scared and distracted based on the bystanders, on less than actually patrol and to take care of, you do not need to be on the police force. Because if you see me and you consider myself a threat or people that look like me a threat, you do not need to be patrolling our neighborhoods. It is officers like you who betray the badge that make us feel bad and make us feel shaking when it comes to police officers. So finally the world got to see Derek Chauvin, you were held accountable for your action. Indeed, indeed.

Again, let's see here. I think we have the link now. Let's see here. All right, folks, let's go to Keith Ellison, attorney general of Minnesota. Go. He had people in his life who loved him. They stopped and raised their voices, and they even challenged authority because they saw his humanity. They stopped and they raised their voices because they knew

that what they were seeing was wrong. Hey, I need that lower third change. They didn't need to be medical professionals or experts in the use of force. They knew it was wrong. And they were right. These community members, this bouquet of humanity, did it again in this trial. They performed simple yet profound acts of courage. They told the truth and they told the whole world the truth about what they saw. They were vindicated by the chief of police,

by Minneapolis's longest serving police officer, and by many other police officers who stepped up and testified as to what they saw and to what they knew. What happened on that street was wrong. We owe it, and we owe our gratitude to fulfilling their civic duty and for their courage in telling the truth. To countless people in Minnesota and across the United States who join them in peacefully demanding justice for George Floyd, we say, all of us, thank you. In the coming days, more may seek to express themselves again through petition and demonstration, I urge everyone to honor the legacy of George Floyd by doing so calmly, legally, and peacefully. I urge everyone to continue the journey to transformation and justice. It's in your hands now. I also want to address the Floyd family, if I may. Over the last year, the family of George Floyd had to relive again and

again the worst day of their lives when they lost their brother, their father, their friend. I'm profoundly grateful to them for giving us the time we needed to prosecute this case. They have shown the world what grace and class and courage really look like. Although a verdict alone cannot end their pain, I hope it's another step on the long path toward healing for them. There's no replacing your beloved Perry, or Floyd, as his friends called him, but he is the one who sparked a worldwide movement, and that's important. We owe our thanks to the men and women of the jury who gave many hours of their time and attention to carefully listening to the evidence, weighing the facts, rendering a verdict.

They are regular people from all walks of life, a lot like that bouquet of humanity on that corner on May 25th and in that courtroom. They answered the call and they served in a landmark trial. They now deserve to return to their lives. If they ask you to respect their privacy, we ask you to honor that request. I want to acknowledge the remarkable team that helped us prosecute the case. We put everything we had into this prosecution. We presented the best case that we could, and the jury heard us, and we're grateful for that. We had the sole burden of proof in the case,

and history shows that when cases like these can be difficult i'm proud of every our every minute in every ounce of effort we put in this case and let me tell you we spent many hours working on this case do we not we week after week committee meeting after committee meeting this team

never let up in it never quit. We fought every day and we did it together. The Attorney General's office together with the Hennepin County Attorney's office. Thank you, sir. And we did it together. I'm deeply grateful to everyone who worked on the case. Most of these folks will tell you it's a bad idea to put together a team of all Michael Jordans. Nobody would want to pass the ball. This team, that was their true strength, is sharing the load, passing the ball, understanding that all of us together are smarter than any one of us alone. And that worked.

Although the verdict has been rendered, this is not the end. In the coming weeks, the court will determine sentencing, and later this summer, we expect to present another case. We will not be talking about that. This verdict reminds us how hard it is to make enduring change. And I just want to finish by sharing some important historical legacy, if you allow me. In 1968, the Kerner Commission was formed to investigate the causes of uprisings across major American cities. And a man named Dr. Kenneth Clark, a famous African-American psychologist who, along with his equally accomplished psychologist wife Mamie, contributed to

compelling research in the Brown versus Board of Education case. And Dr. Clark testified at the Kerner Commission. And I want to quote you what he said. I read that report, the one in the 1919 riot in Chicago, and it was if I were reading the report of investigating the committee of the Harlem riot in 1935, the report on investigating the Harlem riot in 1943, and the members of this commission, it's like a kind of an Alice in Wonderland with the same moving picture re-shown over and over again, the same analysis, the same recommendation, and the same in action. Those are the words of Dr. Clark in 1968. Here we are in 1920, excuse me, 2020, 2021. Here we are in 2021, still addressing the same

problem. Since Dr. Clark testified, we have seen Rodney King, Admiral Uema, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Laquan McDonald, Stephon Clark, Atiana Jefferson, Anton Black, Breonna Taylor, and now Dante Wright and Adam Toledo. This has to end. We need true justice. Hey, folks, go to my computer, please. This is a live stream that's coming from Ben Crump's cell phone. We need true justice. Pastor Jamal Bryant and others. So while Keith Ellison is talking again,

this is right now from the Instagram live feed of Attorney Ben Crump as he is embracing members of George Floyd's family. You see those are relatives there. In a moment, you're going to see one of George Floyd's brothers. If y'all can give me the split screen, please, so we can still see Keith Ellison speaking and still see Attorney Ben Crump here. And while we're pulling that up to listen to the rest of what Keith Ellison has to say, the Attorney General, Monique, this is the thing that I have constantly talked about here. That's Mark Morial, of course, CEO of the National Urban League,

that people don't quite understand. There's always a lot of times people are critical. I believe that's him hugging one of George Floyd's relatives there. Monique, people are all, you get this all the time, you've done work with Ben Crump, and people are always saying, Ben Crump keeps losing cases.

Well, he doesn't prosecute cases. He represents the family. But the work that attorneys like Ben Crump, that's my son you see right there. I see Linda Saussure, who's standing right next to Ben Crump, hugging him right now. And so they're all in that area right there in Brayton. Monique, speak to that, the role of, and to the control room, do me a favor. I need y'all to get my son or Linda Sarsour on the phone as well. The thing that people don't quite understand, Monique,

the work that attorneys like Ben Crump, the work that they have with families to keep them focused, to keep them locked on the case, all of that plays a role in how these trials play out. Yeah. Yeah, they do. Oh, Lord. Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. Y'all see Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. is an Omega. So he's, I keep telling him about that, but Ben Cr Jesse Jackson, the senior. All right. Y'all see Reverend Jesse Jackson seniors in Omega. So he's I keep telling him about that. But Ben Crump is also in Omega.

So that's why that's why that's why you see that going on. Go ahead. So, you know, I mean, I'm looking in that room and I am I'm who I know, who I've marched with in the Floyd family. a gift from a rock band that she and George love. And we were there at a church. And then I've seen the Floyd family use their foundation.

Monique, hold tight one second. Hold on. Can we get the audio feed from the Instagram? Are you guys hearing that? ... ... ... Can we get the audio feed from Instagram? Are you guys hearing that? Okay, I'm still hearing Keith Ellison speaking. Actually, Monique, hold one second.

Let's go back to Keith Ellison. And just actually do, let's go back to Keith Ellison, but to the controller, I want a split screen of Ellison speaking and the feed from Ben Crump's Instagram page. Even one like this one that creates, even one like this one can create a powerful new opening to shed old practices and reset relationships. So with that, I just want to say that I do hope that people step forward and understand

that nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. You can do something the way like everyday people like Donald Williams in Geneva on to Jennifer Martin and Charles McMillan and all those teenagers and young people stepped up and did something you can do things like help pass the George Floyd justice and accountability Act it's in your hands let's get the work done and now I'd like to invite my friend andies to the families of George Floyd. I hope today's verdict provides some measure of closure for them. And let me say what a tremendous job Attorney General Keith Ellison did in recruiting and organizing a talented team of prosecutors and supporting staff.

Great job. Matt Frank, Jerry Blackwell, Steve Flesher, and Aaron Eldridge were exceptional. Their use of experts, evidence, and witnesses left the jury no alternative but to find Mr. Chauvin guilty. We and the people of Minnesota should rightly be proud of these four and your entire staff of volunteers and assistant attorney generals and the jobs they did over the last seven weeks. I'm also proud from the moment that the Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged Derek Chauvin with murder and manslaughter four days after George Floyd's murder, our team worked long hours side by side with the Attorney General's team. Managing Attorney Gene Berdorf did legal analysis and writing.

Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Joshua Larson did witness prep and strategy development. And Vernona Boswell, manager of our Victim Services Division, has been in direct contact for nearly a year now with the family of George Floyd. Victim and witness advocates Jessica Emmerman and Keith Johnson managed all the witnesses, civilian and professional. My two deputies, Lolita Eyoa and Andy Lefevre and I supplied strategic advice and coordination to this talented team 24-7. These guilty verdicts against Mr. Chauvin cannot be the end of the conversation about officer killings of civilians. We need to prevent these killings in the first place. The Minnesota

legislature, as it moves into the final three weeks of the session, must pass a number of bills that will make policing fairer and safer for all, but especially for black men and women and other people of color. I've been lobbying legislators to pass these critical bills. If they fail, then it will be time once again to have a statewide task force to hold hearings and come up with model legislation intending to put an end to these deaths. I am prepared to be part of that fight. Again, Keith, great job. Thank you, Mike. And now I'd like to ask the trial lawyers to share some thoughts if they have any. But before I do do that I'd like to myself thank a number of people and I'm just gonna start by and well well why don't

you just why don't we just why don't we just have our trial lawyers come forward and then we'll thank our whole team so Jerry Steve which one y'all want to do Thank you, Attorney General Ellison. And when I say thank you to Attorney General Ellison, I want to thank you for calling me and calling me back into public service, which is something that I was able to do as a federal prosecutor, as a state prosecutor, as an assistant county attorney in the United States Army. When I left private practice, I thought those days were behind me, but I received a call, and it was from Keith Ellison. And he gave me the opportunity to step

back into public service, something that is so important to me, something that I cherish. And I would just encourage anyone, if you get a call like that as an attorney, it's a privileged life, it's a noble profession, and if somebody calls you and they ask you for help, don't overthink it, just do it. As I've found in my career, you get a lot more than you give. I'm honored to have stood with the Floyd family, to have stood with the state of Minnesota as we go through this painful process together. And it's been my privilege to practice with this incredible, incredible, gifted trial team. And so I stand here today in gratitude. I'm thankful. I want to thank the jury

for their service, for doing what was right and decent and correct and speaking the truth and finding the right verdict in this case. I'm Jerry Blackwell, and my comments are going to be fairly brief. Well, I want to first say thank you to all of these software servers that are standing here and the many more that you do not see. Who had the willingness, the courage, the passion, the intestinal fortitude to get into good trouble. They stepped into the light and they shine. And for that,

I say thank you. I'm grateful for them. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I've had to serve. Now, no verdict can bring George Perry Floyd back to us. But this verdict does give a message to his family that he was somebody that his life mattered that all of our lives matter and that's important and i also hope that this verdict for all of the rest of collective all of us will help us further along the road toward a better humanity thank you all. Matt Frank. Well, I can't really follow that too much, but I just want to say that it's been really a privilege to work with this awesome group of dedicated, hardworking people in this. All right, folks, that, of course, are the prosecutors who are speaking. moments ago attorney Ben Crump posted this video of a phone call he received from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to him and the George Floyd family after the guilty verdict came in for Derek Schoen. This is on their Instagram page. Go. How's Gianna doing?

Right. That's right. Yes. Amen. Yes. I'm going to change it now. So, you've been incredible. You're an incredible thing. I wish I were there just with my arms around you. I'm standing here with Cedric. We've been talking. We've been watching every second of this, the Vice President, all of us, and I'm just...

We're all so neat. Not just one word, all three. Clearly on all three jobs. And it's really important. I'm anxious to see you guys. I really am. We're going to get a lot done. We're going to get police.

We're going to do a lot. We're going to stay at it till we get it done. Hopefully this is the momentum for the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act to get passed to have you signed. We gotta have that and a lot more. Not just that, a lot more. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, this could be our first shot at dealing with genuine systemic racism.

Look, there's some people here that feel strongly as I do. The vice president, she wants to say something. Okay. I'm just so thankful to the entire family. Okay. And history is going to show real leaders at this moment where we needed you. And in George's name and memory, we are going to make sure his legacy is intact. And that history will look back at this moment and know that it was a reflection moment. You had to sacrifice so much, your family did too. But we really do believe that with your leadership and the president that we have in the White House,

that we're going to make something good come out of this tragedy, okay? Thank you, Madam Vice President. Thank you, Madam Vice President. And you better go get ready, because when we do it, we're going to put you on Air Force 1 and get you. We're going to hold you to that, President Biden. Jesus. I guarantee it. Thank you, Mr. President. She's okay. hold you to that president thank you mr president

she's okay thank you Thank you. Nothing is worth it, but it's, like I said, I keep thinking of her words. Daddy's going to change the world. Change the world. Thank God. Well, you got a shot to make a change. That's right.

They changed the world. You tell her what I said. Remind her. Tell her we're going to personally get up there and see her. Oh, yeah. Let them know we're going to personally get up there and see her. She's coming to see you, Mr. President. Thank you.

Yeah. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Yeah. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. God bless you. Thank you, Mr. President. We love you. Thank you. Folks, that was, again, the feed there of Attorney Ben Crump.

So let me just do a reset right here, folks. It was a little more than an hour ago when, actually about an hour ago, when the jury in Minneapolis returned a guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin on all three charges. First and second degree manslaughter, faces up to 10 years, a $20,000 fine. Second degree murder, average of 12.5 years, up to 40 years. Third-degree murder, average 12.5 years, up to 25 years. That was, we were just playing for you there, the response when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called Attorney Ben Crump and the family. In just a moment, we're going to be waiting for the news conference of President Joe Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris. They're going to be speaking to the nation with regards to this particular trial. In a moment, control room,

let me know if y'all see and hear this. In a moment, the family of George Floyd is going to have a news conference there in Minneapolis. Folks, if you can actually go to my computer, you should be able to see the feed. Let me know if you can hear it as well. And so that's going to be in just one second. So lots of moving parts here. We also have our legal panel who is with us. Please, they're still with us. Attorney A. Scott Bolden, he is with us.

Monique Presley, she is with us as well. We also have with us, sorry, we don't have Scott. We had Scott a little bit earlier, but we don't have Scott. But we also have Terrain Bailey, attorney, Bailey Law Firm, Bernarda Lallona, with Senior Trial Counsel with the Joy Jackson Law Firm. They're all still with us. Davon Love, who's an activist out of Baltimore, is with us as well.

And so, again, with all this breaking news, lots of moving parts taking place all at the same time, let me know if y'all have the video ready. At the very moment the jury read the verdict in the Derek Chauvin case, please let me know if y'all have that. And so, when it's ready, we'll play that for the folks who may have missed that when that verdict was read just an hour ago. And of course,

when it was completed, he was laid out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Derek Chauvin was handcuffed and laid out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Former police officer now is going to be heading to prison when he is sentenced in just a few weeks. This here is a live feed right now, folks, in Minneapolis of the family of George Floyd entering into this particular room where they're about to have their news conference. We're going to carry all of it. In addition, we're monitoring the White House feed as well to wait for President Joe Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, who spoke earlier. They're going to address the nation. You see there Attorney General Attorney Ben Crump holding the hand of George Floyd's brother, along with Reverend Al Sharpton. And let's

go to minneapolis George Floyd! Say his name! Judge Floyd! Say his name! Judge Floyd! Before we say anything, we're going to have a prayer. When we first came to Minneapolis and went to the site, when Ben Crump called. We remembered how Eric Gardner said I can't breathe 11 times. His mother came with us to the site. The family came in and this family has stood together for the last 11 months watching this video go over and over and over again. This family stood with pain, suffering, and not knowing what the future held because so many families went and got nothing. They thanked God when they got the indictment

which would not have happened had not the Attorney General Keith Ellison took this case. And Keith Ellison fought and put together a team that made this possible and this is the first time in the history of this state that a white police officer has been convicted, less known convicted of a murder. This is the first time in a long ray of fights that we've seen three counts guilty at all three. We don't find pleasure in this. We don't celebrate a man going to jail. We would have rather George be alive. But we celebrate that we, because young people, white and black, some castigated. Many that are here tonight marched and kept marching and kept going. Many of them looked down on, but they kept marching and wouldn't let this die.

And this is an assurance to them that if we don't give up, that we can win some rounds. But the war and the fight is not over. Just two days from now, we're going to have to deal with the funeral of Daunte Wright in this same county, the same area. We still have cases to fight, but this gives us the energy to fight on. And we are determined that we're going to fight until we make federal law. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act must be law. We want to thank all that were involved, especially the attorney general and the governor and others. We want to thank President Biden, who the first time he came out of his house during the campaign, he flew to Houston and met with the family and Attorney Crump and I. And he sat there and I will never forget, he said to George's daughter that I heard you say your father is going to change the world.

Well, we can now tell Georgia's daughter she was right. Her father has began the changing of the world for real. But before we do anything, we first want to pray and thank God, because somehow God made a way. He had mercy. We believe in a God that can even get through the cracks in a jury room and bring conscience and bring truth. And that jury, we want to thank them for letting God give them the strength wherever they are tonight. We want them to know we broke down in tears when we heard the verdict. We had to hold each other and hug in tears because too many nights we've cried. Many of us for decades spent nights in jail, but today we can wipe our tears away

and fight on for another day. There's sunlight. We're going to keep going till we bring it for the Eric Garners and the Breonna Taylors, whose boyfriend is here tonight. Kenny Walker. Kenny Walker. Sean Bell. So many that did not get this night.

This night is for them. Let us pray. Let's lock arms and pray like we can folks. Well, come on Brandon. Where's Philonise? Come on. Yeah, come on. You and Rodney come up front. You know you's hiding now. Brother Chris, get next to the Attorney General there. Let's pray.

Dear God, we thank you for giving us the strength to stand together. Sometimes we would question each other. Sometimes we say this is just going to be a waste of time, but somehow you touch us in the midnight hours and teach us to hold on and that if we would be faithful over a few things you'd give us the victory over many. We thank you because we know it was not any doing of ours, but your loving kindness and your tender mercy that made tonight possible. Bless those that worked, that made this prosecution something they couldn't deny. Bless those policemen that got on the stand and testified against another policeman.

Bless the jury that listened to the evidence and didn't listen to those that may criticize them for doing this. Bless the prosecutor, Keith Ellison, and his staff that did their job even though they didn't know what the outcome would be. Bless Ben Crump in a special way that worked tirelessly, that jumped on planes and left his family to make sure that justice would rain down. Thank you for all of the civil and human rights leaders that stood up. And we thank you for the nameless grandmas and grandpas that would get on their knees and ask you to give us a victory this time. And Lord, as we give you the thanks and give you the praise, let George know that his name has gone down in history. They may have put their knee on his neck,

but he will now be a figure that we will take the knees off our necks now and we give you the praise. Thank you. And God, we give you the glory. you and god we give you the glory these blessings we ask in your name amen amen amen let me say that i want to bring on now a man who has symbolized the fight for justice. He didn't seek the role, but he rose to the occasion. America, for many years, didn't have someone to stand for us.

The last four years, we didn't have an attorney general's office that would even hear our cry but we had been raised to believe that God always has a ram in the bush and God has a way of taking the most humble of people and raising them as up we had an Attorney General in black America that has represented these cases with the acumen and skill of one that was raised in the South but came to claim this nation in a new direction. I bring you the Attorney General for Black America, Ben Crump. I love it. Thank you, Reverend Al Sharpton, not only for your mentorship, not only for being a great civil rights leader, but for being a moral authority, especially making sure no matter what happened that we always maintained the moral high ground, knowing that we were on the right side of history

as we fought for justice for George Perry Floyd Jr. Say his name. George Floyd. I am a member of a great team of very talented attorneys, and I'm going to acknowledge them. Yeah, we got the omegas and the capas, Reverend Jackson. And the alphas in it. That's right. I want to acknowledge these great group of lawyers and then the family members. Two or three of the lawyers will address you. And then at that time we will hear from the family members before we take any of your questions. I want to acknowledge a great lawyer from Chicago, Illinois, one of the best I've ever had a chance to work with, attorney Tony Ramanucci.

I want to recognize my partner on the front line in this case, one of the best lawyers at being on him. He hails from Atlanta, Georgia, attorney Chris Stewart. Yeah. His law partner, attorney Justin Miller, attorney Madeline Simmons, a great Minnesota lawyers, attorney Jeff Storms, raise your hand, Jeff, attorney Michelle Godot. And who else we got here? Anybody else? We have attorney Scott Masterson who's not present. Attorney Bavani. I said Michelle. We got Michelle. Hi. It's just a great group of lawyers and I want to let you know who we have present here with the family here in Minneapolis for this historic day We have our George Floyd's brothers. We have

Philonise Floyd We have Rodney Floyd we have Brandon Williams whose George Floyd's Nephew but was more like a son to him They call him woo back in the third war Floyd's nephew that was more like a son to him. They called him Woo back in the third ward. Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo.

We have Keita Floyd, Philonise's wife. We have, oh, where Terrence at? New York, where you at? We got Terrence Floyd. His sisters who are not with us, but we should absolutely acknowledge Bridget Floyd, who hails from North Carolina, his sisters Latonya and Zsa Zsa, who hail from Houston, Texas. We have his cousins, Sherita McGee, Tidra McGee, and Tara Brown. And we have the mother of his daughter, Gianni Floyd.

We have Roxy Washington. And we have Gianna. Yeah! And so I'll make some brief remarks, and then we're going to have Attorney Stewart. Oh! Angela Cousin Paris. Angela Cousin Paris and Uncle Selwyn? Vince. Vince. All right.

Any more Floyd family? I know it's a big crew. A.D. A. crew. A.D. A.D. The man he came to Minneapolis with. And a Darrell. So I'll make some brief remarks, and then we're going to have Attorney Stewart and Attorney Ramanucci make some brief remarks, and then we're going to hear from this family. And we're going to try to leave here today knowing that America is a better country. to proclaim this historical moment, not just for the legacy of George Floyd,

but for the legacy of America. The legacy of trying to make America for all Americans so that George Floyd's victory and America's quest for equal justice under the law would be intertwined. America, let's frame this moment as a moment where we finally are getting close to living up to our Declaration of Independence, that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equally, that they're endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights that amongst them are life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Well, America, that means all of us.

That means black people. That means Hispanic people. That means native people. That means Asian people. That means all of us, America. We frame this moment for all of us, not just for George Floyd. This is a victory for those who champion humanity over inhumanity, those who champion justice over injustice, those who champion morals over immorality. morality. America, let's lean into this moment and let's make sure, Reverend Al, that this moment will be documented for our children yet unborn as they continue on the journey to justice, knowing that the blood of George Floyd will give them a trail to find a way to a better America, a more just America.

A more just America where Breonna Taylor gets an opportunity to sleep in peace at night without the police busting in her front door. A more just America where Maude Arbery gets to run free and not be lynched for jogging while black. A more a more just America where Jacob Blake and Anthony McClain and Walter Scott and Laquan McDonald and all these other black men, Terrence Crutcher, who was shot in the back while running away like Dante Wright was just a week ago. Because for some reason, black men running away from the police is more dangerous than young white men

who commit mass murders and walk towards the police with an assault weapon, Reverend Brown, like Cal Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin. America, let this be the precedent. Let this be the precedent where we live up to the high ideals and the promises when we say liberty and justice for all. Those Sunkist children are included in all. Those children who overcame slavery, the Middle Passage, the Dred Scott decision, Classify Ferguson, Jim Crow,

and his much smarter, wiser son, Jim Crow Jr. Esquire. Let this be the precedence where we overcome systematic racism and oppression. And that we are a better people and we will leave our children a better world. A better world for us all. At this time, we will hear from a great lawyer because nobody does this alone. It's always a team effort. And we have the lawyers, the preachers, the civil rights leaders, the education leaders, the activists. Let's give a big round of applause for the activists.

The people who stayed in the streets. The people who came nationally, but more importantly, the people who were here locally, who were standing up for George Floyd on 38th and Chicago Avenue, day in and day out. Silky, the people who went and go home, went and stay quiet. Reverend Jackson, the people who followed. Yeah. Example. Don't forget about the witness.

Donna Williams. Donna Williams. Donna wanted to be here. Donna. Donna. Yeah. So, we love you, Donna. Without further ado, my brother, Attorney Chris Stewart. And Tony, you coming up next?

Come on. We all right. And Tony, you coming up next? Come on. I'm going to decide right here. We all right. We got Steve Harvey. The first thing. Steve Harvey, Sue said, full effect. The first thing that happened when we heard the verdict is that we all teared up and embraced. So don't confuse these tears thinking that they are sorrow.

Because those were the tears that happened to African Americans when they're pulled over constantly on the side of the road and know they can't get help. Those are the tears of the victims that we've seen time and time again be shot in the back, choked over loose cigarettes, or killed for no reason, and justice never comes. Those are the tears that someone will weep tomorrow when they are taken advantage of in an interaction with law enforcement. But today the tears are pure joy. Pure joy and pure shock because days like this don't happen. The whole world should not have to rally to get justice for one man.

But that's what happened. This wasn't a city case. This wasn't one family's case. This was the entire world's case. And justice finally came. But it shouldn't have to be so hard to attain this level of justice in cases like this when we can see with our own eyes the only difference is the color of skin and that's the change that we all want. That's not a change that's outrageous. Yes law enforcement have a dangerous job.

They have to carry a spear and a sword and a shield but all too often African Americans only get the spear or the sword. We need more of the shield because this is not a case against every officer. My life was saved by two law enforcement officers years ago so I will never throw every cop under the bus but we will put more cops in jail when you kill someone for no reason just because they're black and we can find a unifying purpose between law enforcement and the African-American community by changes, starting with the George Floyd justice and policing act, a beautifully written bill that will help protect the community and solve police.

And the main question is, will we let politics divide us? Because that's what happens. Republican or Democrat, you're going to stick to your side. Unify, as Ben has been saying, as Rev has been saying, and get this bill passed and save people so that you don't have to board up your own cities for situations like this. And if not, we'll see you next time when it's time to vote. You've seen what's happened across this country.

And we shouldn't have to be so happy when we finally get one. But we are in celebration for Gianna, for Roxy, who has stood strong this entire time, for the brothers and sisters, for the activists like Tamika and everybody out here, for this entire group. And it wouldn't have happened without every single one of y'all, white or black people everybody out here for this entire group. And it wouldn't have happened without every single one of y'all white or black people out there praying for this family, getting love and support. And we love all of you all. Let this be a changing point in America for policing in a positive way. And let's unify. Thank you, my brother. I love you, man.

Attorney Tony Ramanucci from Chicago, Illinois. Good afternoon, everybody. As Ben said, my name is Tony Romanucci. I'm smiling here today, not for myself, but really for the entire country and for the world that's watching i know that on behalf of the family and for everyone who's here today that we stand here before you feeling a tremendous amount of joy and eternal hope for me 36 years ago i was a young public defender in cook County. Reverend Jackson I know you know that place very well and that's where I was introduced to the marginalization of black and brown people and for now this is the 36th year I've seen it come through. I really feel that this country has turned a corner

but I'm going to tell you, it was a tough corner to turn, and it couldn't have been done. And I'm going to reach out to you all, the press, for spreading the message, for the strength and wisdom of Ben Crump. To you, Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jackson, the attorneys, Chris, Justin, Madeline, Jeff, Michelle, Bhavani, Nicolette, Ian, all the teams in all the cities in this country, the attorney general and their magnificent prosecution team, they did it, right? They tied up every loose thread for that jury. They let them follow it

right through. They showed them how to prosecute and how to convict. And we are so grateful. But make no mistake, we are not done. The George Floyd Policing and Reform Act must pass the Senate. We now know that today police can and will be held accountable for needless death. This death never should have happened. George should have been alive somewhere with his daughter Gianna playing on a playground. From now on, everyone's on notice that police will be held accountable, but we will be held accountable too. This whole country should be held accountable, but police especially. I am so thankful to all of you.

I am hopeful for a greater America, for a great, great vote of confidence. I will tell you that Speaker Pelosi called us not once today, but twice. Our Speaker is a great leader. She is somebody that wants to see this through. We have a great President who wants to see this through. We have one little hiccup in between. Let's get this past the Senate. Let's get justice in America once and for all and forever. One last comment. I met a young lady yesterday. Her name was Lamia. She said one thing to me that I promised her that I would repeat today. Lamia is not part of the of the Floyd family. She is part of the Wright family.

And she said one thing and I promised her I would say it today. We are all God's children. Thank you, LaMaya. Thank you, Tony. And I know Speaker Pelosi called. These are all, of course, this is the news conference taking place right now. I just want to give you an update on that again of Attorney Ben Crump of the George Floyd family. A number of the lawyers have been speaking. We're going to go

back to the news conference right now. You were just hearing Crump say that they heard from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who called. Also, we showed you the video of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris calling Attorney Ben Crump moments after the verdict. Let's go back to the news conference. Acknowledge President Biden acknowledging that we are all a better America today. Isn't that what he said? OK. Isn't that what he said? Okay. And we got so many good staff people to thank. Jim McGuffin, Michelle, Adner, Roma, all these people who've been working in the vineyards supporting our lawyers. Silky, everybody.

But briefly, we want to have, we can't be in Minneapolis and not have a representative. Jeff and Michelle want to come up and say a word. Our great Minnesota co-counsel, Jeff Storm. Michelle, get there. So I just briefly want to say, I love this city. I love this city. I love this state. And no longer can we be known for these massively infamous failures in civil rights. We owe our children and our community more. From this moment further, from this conviction now, we have to be leaders in this country on civil rights. And everyone standing up here will work tirelessly until that happens. And I challenge everybody else in Minnesota

to make that same effort. Thank you. Thank you, Jeff. Okay. Thank you, Jeff, can we, cause they're trying to get everybody to take a step back. Uh, let's try to make the podium. Let's try to make the podium. Just everybody take a step back. We're going to have the family. We're going to have this. We're going to have the family come up. Okay. Okay. We're going to have the family come and try to greet you all. Uh, so, so you got, you got a backup too. So the camera's trying to, the camera's trying to get the podium. Yeah. Right now, we're going to bring up a man who, when y'all first met him, Tony, y'all remember, all he could do is cry because he was heartbroken. He was heartbroken. Because remember, so many times, it's a case to us. Tamika is a cause. You know, my son is a hashtag. But to them, this was their flesh and blood. Mark Mario, they slept in the bed with George.

I mean, the stories that they tell, you know this was a close family. He tells those stories, Reverend, but he really has become so articulate and saying we have to fight for all Americans. Mr. Philonise Floyd. My nephew, he's calling me Baby Al. Jesse's calling me Steve Harvey. But, man, I feel relieved today that I finally have the opportunity for hopefully getting some sleep. A lot of days that I prayed and I hoped and I was speaking everything into existence, I said I have faith that he will be convicted. It's been a long journey and it's been less than a year and the person that comes to my mind is 1955 and to me he was the first George Floyd. That was that was Emmett Till. Wow. And to me, he was the first George Floyd. That was Emmett Till. Wow.

Wow. I did was on CNN with Deborah Watts, and she just brought him back to life. People forgot about him. Yeah. But he was the first George Floyd. Yes. But today you have the cameras all around the world to see and show what happened to my brother. It was a motion picture. The world seeing his life being extinguished.

And I could do nothing but watch. Especially in that courtroom over and over and over again as my brother was murdered. Times, they're getting harder every day. Ten miles away from here, Mr. Wright. Dante Wright. That's right. Yeah. he should still be here. We ought to always understand that we have to watch. We will have to do this for life. We have to protest because it seems like this is a never ending

cycle. Reverend Al always told me, we got to keep fighting. I'm going to put up a fight every day. Because I'm not just fighting for Josh anymore. I'm fighting for everybody around this world. I get calls. I get DMs. People from Brazil, from Ghana, from Germany, everybody, London, Italy, they're all saying the same thing.

We won't be able to breathe until you're able to breathe. Today, we are able to breathe again. Ms. Garner, I told you, we'll get justice. And we still, we're going to fight for you too. We're going to fight for everybody. Thank you all so much for just giving us this time. Because we're here and we're not going anywhere. And I want to thank all the protesters, all the attorneys who stepped up, all the activists who stepped up and many who think they're not activists but advocates. Thank you all.

Amen. Because justice for George means freedom for all. Yeah, he is. That's it. Terrence Floyd. We will have Terrence Floyd, Georgia's brother from New York City. The name of the preacher. Reverend Floyd. I'm not going to preach today. You ain't going to preach today? I'm not going to preach today. You ain't going to preach today? Oh, man, so many emotions right now.

But I'm very thankful and grateful. Grateful for the people in this world, for the support, the prayers, the love that was shown, whether you sent it by social media or whether you sent it emails or however, we just appreciate the love. I appreciate the team, the Crump Law team. I call them Unc. I call them Unc. We built a bond bond of relationship through this whole journey. I appreciate him. He would call me, he would call me and check up on me and ask me if I'm all right, because I'm the only one up there. Everybody else is down south. So, but he never caught a robbery to check up on me and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for Reverend Sharpton. Yeah. Thank you. He's been fighting a long time. Long time. Man, Reverend Jesse Jackson. Yeah. Thank you. It's a lot of history here. History is here. This is monumental. Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, they lived to see this.

Their fight wasn't in vain. It just didn't happen when they did it. But it happened now. And they're here to see it and go back to when he did that prayer service. My family is a family that will not back down from prayer. Yes. And I believe because of prayer, we got the verdict we wanted. Amen. We got on our knees.

Some of us stood up, but we asked the right person. We asked the right one. Yes. We said, God, we need justice. We need it now. And he answered. Oh, man.

I'm just grateful. I'm grateful that my grandmother, my mother, my aunts, they just got to see this history made. I'm grateful my brother's not here. I'm grateful and I'm proud of him. I will salute him every day of my life. I will salute him because he showed me how to be strong. He showed me how to be respectful.

He showed me how to speak my mind. I'm going to miss him, but now I know he's in history. What a day to be a Floyd, man. Wow. Thank you. be a Floyd, man. Thank you. Thank you, Terrence. Now we will hear from George's baby brother,

Rodney Floyd. Oh, man. You know what? I'm going to say this first. I would like to say this first. I would like to thank all the advocates, the activists. I'd like to thank the people that stayed in these streets marching night and day. People of Portland stayed in the streets for 83 days. I think it made me wrong, but thankful for everybody that stayed out there making a statement with us, encouraging us on our dark days, dark nights.

We had them. And, you know, we got so many messages flooding in from social media sites. Can't read them all. There's so many. But you know what? Thank everyone, each and everyone. So many people at grocery stores who walk in. We hear from the elders.

You know, I believe in respecting the elders, giving you guys all the respect, men and women. And I hear them walk up in the grocery store, stop me, I'm mask up, face, I'm hat in a mask, and they say, hey, I recognize the side of your face. Let me talk to you. I know who you are. And we have a whole, they'll stop and hold a great conversation telling me what they experienced as a child, what they saw, and what they need for change. And they say, we are here for you. And this is everywhere I go,

my brother go, we all go. And thank you people for the love in the streets. I'm thanking everyone because we couldn't have did this. And this is a victory for all of us. There's no color boundary on this. This is everyone who's been held down, pinned down. And you know what people, we're standing together in unity. And this right here here I'd like to thank our team Mr. Attorney Ben Crump, Mr. Mr. Romanucci, the witnesses, Donna Williams, I would like to thank the jury, I mean everybody thank God that's all all day God Almighty thank you and you know what people we're not done yet and my brother George he smiling. His beautiful daughter's here. Gianna, baby, you're so beautiful.

You're so smart. Roxy, you have my heart, baby. Thank you for holding Gianna, keeping her strong. I know how hard it is. I know how hard it is. I would like to thank everyone that helped out in this case. I'd like to thank this jury for having the hearts and mindsets that we all see in this video because we know this video was an open and shut case. Everybody knows this video. And I know what the jury had the same mindset we all had. Guilty as charged.

Luck to thank them. I would like to thank again everybody the press and all. But for George this fight is not over. We gonna stand here together. We gonna try to get this George Floyd act passed. The act going to stand here together. We're going to try to get this George Floyd Act passed. The act has to be passed, people. It has to be. We're going to keep pressure on the Senate, everybody. Thank you all all for coming. George, I know that he love all y'all.

Thank y'all. All right, Rodney. And next, we're going to have a man who, boy, hear me, hear me, George, used to text each other all the time. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee always talk about CUNY homes, Houston, Texas. Back there, Rox, I think y'all call them woo. We're going to hear from Brandon Williams, who's like a son to George. Thank you. It's a very emotional day for me.

I don't really have the words. I'm overwhelmed with joy. But I do want to start by saying thank you. First off, thank you to all you guys advocating, protesting in the middle of a pandemic, putting your lives and safety on the line. We appreciate that. Especially to our legal team, Ben, Tony, Justin, Chris, Justin back here. Definitely, definitely thank you to Keith Ellison and his team. I think they did an amazing job from start to finish.

All of the evidence, all of the witnesses, everything proved exactly what we saw in that video. But yet, we still question the decision of the jury, and I wonder why. Oftentimes, this system fails us as black men and women in America. With all evidence there, everything pointing to a guilty verdict. We somehow still don't get the guilty verdict. Or in some cases, I got my good friend Kenny Walker back here. Yeah. We don't even get charges. Yeah. Right. So today is a pivotal moment for America. It's something this country has needed for a long time now. And hopefully today is the start of that.

When I say a pivotal moment, we need change in this broken system. It was built to oppress us. It was built against us. Oftentimes, we see people who are supposed to protect and serve. Supposed to protect and serve, they do the total opposite.

On the first day of trial, we had a press conference, and we kneel for eight minutes and 46 seconds And when I got up and it was my turn to speak I Said that every time I come out here. It's hard Because it's the exact place where they took somebody from me that I love and I absolutely dislike coming here But I also said this time it was easy. We came for one thing and one thing only. That was justice for George Floyd. And today, that's what we got.

So this time it wasn't hard at all. It wasn't hard at all. It wasn't hard at all. I'm big on faith and prayer. I had a lot of faith. But I was also optimistic. We need police reform bad. These guys are able to wear a badge and go out in the field, which means that they're qualified and trained to do their job at a high level.

But when you shoot and kill a man that's running away from you that doesn't pose a threat, either you're not qualified and under-trained, or it's a choice and you want to kill black men and women it's either one or the other and i think today keith ellison and his team proved that just because you are a law you're not above the law yeah we need each and every officer to be held accountable. And until then, it's still scary to be a black man or woman in America and count in police. So when I say today is a pivotal moment, it's a chance for America to take a turn in the right direction and right a lot of wrongs so that we don't keep adding to these names. So that little girls and boys like Gianna are not growing up fatherless.

So their families don't feel the pain we feel. It's a lot of sleepless nights. No family should go through that. And hopefully our country take a turn in the right direction today. Hearing from Brandon Williams with Sherilyn Ifill, President and Director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Sherilyn, glad to have you on Roller Martin Unfiltered. People obviously are reacting.

They are responding with cries of joy that this officer was found guilty. But as Brandon just said, this is just simply one case. That in order for folks to believe these things are gonna change, there has to be more Derek Chauvins who are convicted. But not just convicted, actually go to trial. Not just go to trial, actually get indicted. Well, I'll take it a step further, Roland.

We don't want people to be killed and brutalized. You know, the trial is what happens after the life of an innocent man has been taken. And so, yes, we want accountability. That's why we want the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. We want to be able to hold officers accountable for engaging in brutality and misconduct. But we also want a new system. We want a system that does not produce what this produced. We're here today.

We know this because we have this nine-minute video, because a courageous young girl, Darnella Frazier, took this video, because a crowd of people were compelled out of their humanity to stand there and bear witness, to speak out, to plead for the life of George Floyd. That's how we ended up here. I just posted something on Twitter that Keith Boykin had posted earlier, you know, the police report that was originally filed about this quote-unquote incident. And it's very different than, you know, what we learned actually happened. So this is the one case where we actually have that video and where we had all

those witnesses and where even police officers were willing to testify against one of their own. But what about all the other cases, Roland, Not just the ones we know about, not just the Freddie Grays and the Terrence Crutchers and the Eric Garners and all the other cases in which officers were not held accountable, but the ones in which we haven't seen a video, the names that we don't even know of people who were brutalized and even killed by police officers.

So we need a different system. And I don't want to in any way diminish the significance of the verdict tonight, because I don't even know how I would hold myself together if there had not been a conviction. Very important and important for the family and important for all of us, really. But it is, as you say, it's one case and we have a lot of work to do. It's important for us to take our breath tonight and to be gratified for the family, but also to know that we've just got to really dig in on real transformation.

To that point, we just had the shooting in Chicago, 13 year old killed, a kid who was shot and killed. Officers report different from what the body cam footage show. Laquan McDonald, when Jason Van Dyke was convicted, again, the police report different than what he said. Yesterday, we had a state's attorney from Prince George's County, Brave Boy, on where she has a list of 15 officers who she will not call to the stand because of issues that they have. Fairfax County, one officer, they're looking at throwing out 400 cases because of his misconduct. And that's the piece that folks were saying that, look, we shouldn't

get to the point where, yes, we are celebrating officer who was found guilty. George Floyd should still be alive. No, absolutely. And think about where we were a few hours ago, Roland. We by no means felt that this was a foregone conclusion. We were all on tenor hooks, right? Everybody was hoping that there would be a conviction. And that's with everything I described. That's with the video, with the police officers testifying, with all the witnesses on the street and so forth. We have a deep, deep systemic problem. It didn't even stop while the trial was happening. You know, Dante Wright was killed 20 miles away while this trial was playing out. So we know that, and I think that's some of the heaviness we feel today.

We feel the need for this vindication. This verdict was important. But we also know that in the, you know, it's a drop in an ocean of injustice that has to be fully kind of drained. And there has to be a new vision of what public safety looks like in this country. And it's got to not be one that is formulated in the way policing is formulated in this country. We need something that emanates from the communities, from our own communities, with a vision of what public safety should be like. We originally booked you to talk about the congressional hearing today dealing with the issue of voting, but you saw just what happened in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis signing this so-called anti-rioters bill that also, frankly, will be limiting First Amendment,

included in that where the right is calling it, oh, the most pro-law enforcement bill we've seen in a very long time. We also have, of course, what's happening in Congress, trying to convince West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Christian Sinema to support any of the filibuster, because this is a reality. If we do not confront what Republicans are trying to do across the country with voting, then they, look what happened in Florida, how they're even saying they are ordering cities. You can't determine how you fund or defund the police or shift resources without our permission. And so voting is tied to the very changes.

Maryland got rid of the officer's bill of rights that was elected leaders who overturned the veto of the governor. And so this testimony on Capitol Hill today about voting rights goes directly with police accountability across the country. Roland, you hit the nail on the head. And that's what I've been saying, you know, over the last few weeks since Georgia passed its omnibus voter suppression bill SB202. You know, at the end of the day, we all know what happened last summer after George Floyd was killed. There were protests around the country in all 50 states, all over the world,

frankly. And, you know, black people, our communities, understandably and righteously outraged and angered about the killing of George Floyd, about the killing of Breonna Taylor, about the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, really, you know, about COVID, really angry. And channeled, we channeled that energy and anger in the way that John Lewis told us to. What did he tell us on the Edmund Pettus Bridge a year ago? Vote like never, ever before. Don't give up. Don't give in. Eyes on the prize. And Black people did that. We had the highest turnout in this presidential election and in the special election in Georgia. You know, extraordinarily channeled and focused, risking COVID, by the way, to participate in the

election, doing it by any means necessary. LeBron James creating more than a vote, we worked with him at LDF and helped get, you know, young poll workers. I mean, this was, everybody was all in. And in response to this powerful and important display of civic engagement, the highest turnout of any presidential election ever, not even dealing with who you voted for, whether you voted for the winner or the loser, it was the highest turnout of any presidential election, high turnout in the special election in Georgia,

especially for black people. 92% of black voters who voted in the special election in Georgia, especially for black people. Ninety two percent of black voters who voted in the November 2020 presidential election showed up for the special election. That's unheard of. In response to that, Georgia decides that this can never happen again. Right. Because what's the result of that special election? The election of the first black senator from Georgia since Reconstruction, the election

of the first Jewish senator ever in that state. And the Georgia legislature responds by creating a special elections integrity commission on January 7th, right after the vote is certified for Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. And it's off to the races with their voter suppression bill, and now all the other states are following suit. This is essentially in retaliation for Black people deciding that we were going to marshal ourselves into the political process and vote like never, ever before. So when you make that connection, you are right about that connection. And the question then becomes, if it's allowed to stand—now, I'll be clear that LDF has already filed suit, along with other organizations, challenging the Georgia SB202, and there'll be others in other states as well.

I wouldn't expect the Florida law that was just signed to go unpunished around protests that essentially is a walking violation of the First Amendment. But the truth is, what are we saying to people who channel their outrage into voting, which is supposed to be this powerful form of public and civic expression, if we allow these voter suppression bills to go forward? So that's why it was important for me to testify today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Stacey Abrams and Senator Raphael Warnock and the brilliant scholar Carol Anderson to really talk about what's happening. There was a lot of outrage around this being called Jim Crow 2.0, but there's enough evidence out there to suggest that's exactly what it is and we need to understand that connection between the two. Well it is certainly the case and we just saw in Montana Republicans took

over the legislature for the first time in two decades. What's the first thing they did? Pass a voter suppression law outlawing same day voter registration. We're seeing the limiting of ballot drop boxes all across the country as well. And so these things are connected. And I dare say there is going to be a reaction from the right. That's going to be pro police as a result of this verdict. Yeah, and so it's going to be interesting to see whether the ground has shifted at all, Roland. I do think that something happened last summer with those protests around the country, not just because people were protesting the killing of George Floyd, but because of how the police responded to those protests. Those protests were multiracial. They were all over

the country. And the response by law enforcement officers in many cities was brutal. People had an opportunity to see up front and in person themselves the response of police officers to protest against racial violence. And then they got to see the contrast on January 6th, right, when there was the storming of the Capitol. And we saw what was allowed to happen. We saw those people, those insurrectionists, those violent insurrectionists having the door held open for them as they left. And so I think there's some reordering going on, at least in some minds, that are not kind of part of the usual suspects around policing.

And they better be very, very careful about pressing their case at this point, because I think there's a lot of vulnerability around this set of issues. I think people can see it's not working. Whatever we were doing, I've been at this a long time. I've been there, you know, pushing for training and all that stuff. It's not working. And if we want change and we want something to be different, then it's going to have to be different. We're going to have to do different. And're going to have to do different. And I would just say, you know, we should also connect to that, the confirmation of these two extraordinary women who were nominated to serve in the Department of Justice. Vanita Gupta, nominated to serve as associate attorney general. And Kristen Clark, who is well known to you and been on this program many times, nominated to serve as assistant attorney general for civil rights. When confirmed, she'll be the first Black woman, first woman, and first Black woman ever in that position.

And when you see the kind of resistance to them, the kind of smears, attacks, the millions of dollars spent by groups to resist them, you understand that they know that these two women can help with this change. Right. And so that's kind of what we're seeing is all part of the connection. Well, this is why we focus on this every single day, because we're going to be in for a major fight in all of 2021. And definitely when it comes to 2022 in these political races. Sherrilyn Ifill, president, director of counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Glad to have you here. Look forward to having you back. And we're going to keep giving them hell. Y'all do the same thing in the courtrooms.

We will. We will. Won't stop. Can't stop. Thank you, Roland. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Let's quickly go back to Minneapolis. I want to quickly hear from Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. Then I'm going to talk to U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. It's not that people don't think on a team of kids of black and white. And we must learn to live together as brothers and not die apart. Say we must learn to live together and not die apart. Say we will live together. I want to express my thanks to Montreal, Urban League,

and all those who come together today because we're going to keep marching. This is a funeral for Brother Wright. They were relieved, but we can't celebrate because the killings keep coming. I hope the case today has broken the backbone of legalization.

Ben, this case should break the backbone of legalization. They've lynched us with the law. We need to change that. We're changing that. Thank you very much. Okay. I got some folks who sent me some tweets

and they were asking about Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. As you know, for the last several years, he has been battling Parkinson's and it is always good to see him. He is still on the front lines. He got to Minnesota on Saturday, met with the family of Daunte Wright, met with the family, met many times with the family of George Floyd and was with them today when this verdict came in.

Let's now go to Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, who joins us right now. Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Senator Klobuchar, this this obviously is huge for the state of Minnesota. We dealt with the death, the murder of Philando Castile, where the officer, you didn't have a trial there. You were dealing with this. You're dealing with Daunte Wright. You're dealing with the mayor of Brooklyn Center who said, frankly, it's unsafe for black people in the state when it comes to the police. Your immediate reaction to this guilty verdict on all three counts against Derek Chauvin. Well, my first reaction, of course, is relief for the family.

It's never going to bring George back. And they have never given up on believing that something good can come out of this horrendous murder. And the fact that the jury came back so quickly on all three counts, the fact that the witnesses that came forward, the clerk working in the store, the bystander, who seemed to be, as you know, putting the burden on themselves when, in fact, we know who did this, and it was Derek Chauvin. So the conviction was really, really important from a justice perspective.

But at the same time, as Sherilyn said, there's so much more work that needs to be done. Talk about the importance of one of your former congressional colleagues being the attorney general in this case attorney general keith ellison stepping in taking over this case and putting together the legal strategy that led to the conviction of derek chauvin i'm smiling right now because keith ellison handled this case every step of the way, just like he should. And you know why? He didn't make it about himself.

He didn't make it about the lawyers that handled the case. You didn't see a bunch of, you know, hot shot lawyering. They just did their jobs. And they allowed the witness to tell the story because this was not just about George Floyd's tragic murder. It was also about his life. And it was about how much he loved his mom and how he wasn't going to be able to hold his kids again and all that came through, Roland, and I think part of why is that Keith made a decision.

He wasn't going to make this about politics. He wasn't going to make this about what legal move they did that day. You didn't see him going on TV during the trial or even right leading into it. And I talked to him many times, of course, in the last few months and then particularly during the trial. And he was steady as they come. He showed such leadership. And I just don't want that part of this to be forgotten because we know we have so much work to do. This is just the first step. We know we got to pass police reform in the This is just the first step. We know we gotta pass police reform in the Senate, but the fact that Keith Ellison

is willing to take this case on, because typically the attorney generals in states don't always take these kinds of cases on, and he did it, and he did it so well. We talk about, you saw at the news conference, you heard the family, you heard Attorney Ben Crump, and you heard on Ben Crump, and you heard on that phone call President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris talk about the importance

of the Senate passing the George Floyd Justice Act. We also are waiting for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to speak to the nation as a result of this verdict. But the only way that's going to get happen. Let's just be real clear There aren't ten votes there on the Republican side. They aren't there The only way this is going to happen is to break the filibuster How do you get to your two colleagues who have said Senator Joe Manchin? They say it there is no circumstance in which he is going To vote to get rid of the filibuster.

Sinema said the exact same thing. Well, then how are we going to pass the John Lewis bill? How are we going to pass H.R. 1? How are we going to pass the George Floyd Justice Act? And do they not understand that that literally is going to potentially put Democrats in the minority in 2022? OK, let's start. Start with me.

You know, I favor abolishing the filibuster. I like to get things done, and we just can't get things done. And it's police reform, it's voting, and Sherilyn did an incredible job, along with Stacey Abrams and others at this hearing today on voting. I'm going to be in charge of the hearing on the For the People Act, and I know how hard this is. So that's why I favor abolishing the filibuster. These are things. One, Cory Booker is leading the bill on police reform. He is working so hard to get something done, Roland. I talked to him through the weekend. He spent the whole weekend on this, working with the White House, working with others. So let's see what he does. So give him that chance.

Senator Klobuchar, you know I do not like to have to interrupt you, but we're sort of superseded right now by the vice president, the president of the United States. That's pretty important. I adore Kamala. So let her have her moment. She's speaking right now. All right. Let's go loud to the White House, folks. Thank you. It cannot take away the pain. A measure of justice isn't the same as equal justice. This verdict brings us a step closer. And the fact is, we still have work to do. We still must reform the system. Last summer, together with Senator Cory Booker and Representative Karen Bass,

I introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This bill would hold law enforcement accountable and help build trust between law enforcement and our communities. This bill is part of George Floyd's legacy. The President and I will continue to urge the Senate to pass this legislation, not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start. This work is long overdue. America has a long history of systemic racism. Black Americans, and black men in particular, have been treated throughout the course of our history

as less than human. Black men are fathers and brothers and sons and uncles and grandfathers and friends and neighbors. Their lives must be valued in our education system, in our health care system, in our housing system, in our economic system, in our criminal justice system, in our nation. Full stop. Because of smartphones, so many Americans have now seen the racial injustice that black Americans have known for generations. The racial injustice that we have fought for generations, that my parents protested in the 1960s, that millions of us, Americans of every race,

protested last summer. Here's the truth about racial injustice. It is not just a Black America problem or a people of color problem. It is a problem for every American. It is keeping us from fulfilling the promise of liberty and justice for all. And it is holding our nation back from realizing our full potential. We are all a part of George Floyd's legacy. And our job now is to honor it and to honor him. Thank you. And now it is my great honor to introduce the President of the United States, Joe Biden. Today a jury in Minnesota found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd last May. It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see.

The systemic racism the vice President just referred to. The systemic racism is a stain on our nation's soul. The knee on the neck of justice for black Americans. Profound fear and trauma. The pain, the exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every single day. The murder of George Floyd launched a summer of protest we hadn't seen since the civil rights era in the 60s. Protests that unified people of every race and generation in peace and with purpose to say enough, enough, enough of this senseless killings. Today, today's verdict is a step forward. I just spoke with the governor of Minnesota

to thank me for the close work with his team. I also spoke with George Floyd's family again, a remarkable family of extraordinary courage. Nothing can ever bring their brother, their father, back. But this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America. Let's also be clear that such a verdict is also much too rare. For so many people, it seems like it took a unique and extraordinary convergence of factors. A brave young woman with a smartphone camera. A crowd that was traumatized.

Traumatized witnesses. A murder that lasts almost 10 minutes in broad daylight for ultimately the whole world to see. Officers standing up and testifying against a fellow officer instead of just closing ranks, which should be commended. A jury who heard the evidence 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 a just, just basic accountability. We saw how traumatic and exhausting just watching the trial was for so many people. Think about it. Those of you are listening. Think about how traumatic it was for you. You weren't there. You didn't know any of the people.

But it was difficult, especially for the witnesses who had to relive that day. It's a trauma. On top of the fear so many people of color live with every day when they go to sleep at night and pray for the safety of themselves and their loved ones. Again, as we saw in this trial from the fellow police officers who testified, most men and women who wear the badge serve their communities honorably. But those few who fail to meet that standard must be held accountable, and they were today. One was. No one should be above the law. And today's verdict sends that message. But it's not enough. We can't stop here. In order to deliver real change and reform, we can and we must

do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen and occur again. To ensure that black and brown people or anyone, so they don't fear the interactions with law enforcement, that they don't have to wake up knowing that they can lose their very life in the course of just living their life. They don't have to worry about whether their sons or daughters will come home after a grocery store run, or just walking down the street or driving their car or playing in the park or just sleeping at home. And this takes acknowledging and confronting head-on systemic racism and the racial disparities that exist in policing and in our criminal justice system

more broadly. You know, state and local government and law enforcement needs to step up, but so does the federal government. That's why I've appointed the leadership of the Justice Department that I have, that is fully committed to restoring trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to serve and protect. I have complete confidence in the Attorney General, General Garland's leadership and commitment. I've also nominated two key Justice Department nominees, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clark, who are eminently qualified, highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice. Vanita and Kristen have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system. And

they deserve to be confirmed. We also need Congress to act. George Floyd was murdered almost a year ago. There's meaningful police reform legislation in his name. You just heard the Vice President speak of it. She helped write it. Legislation to tackle systemic misconduct in police departments, to restore trust between law enforcement and the people they're entrusted to serve and protect. But it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done. In my conversations with the Floyd family, I spoke to them again today,

I assured them we're going to continue to fight for the passage of the Jordan Floyd Justice and Policing Act so I can sign the law as quickly as possible. There's more to do. Finally, it's the work we do every day to change hearts and minds as well as laws and policies. That's the work we have to do. Only then will full justice and full equality be delivered to all Americans. And that's what I just discussed with the Floyd family. The guilty verdict does not bring back George. And that's what I just discussed with the Floyd family.

The guilty verdict does not bring back George. But through the family's pain, they're finding purpose. So George George's legacy will not be just about his death, but about what we must do in his memory. I also spoke to Gianna, George's young daughter, again. When I met her last year, I've said this before, at George's funeral, I told her how brave I thought she was, and I sort of knelt down to hold her hand.

I said, Daddy's looking down on you. He's so proud. He said to me then, I'll never forget it, Daddy changed the world. I told her this afternoon, Daddy did change the world. Let that be his legacy, a legacy of peace, not violence, of justice. Peaceful expression of that legacy are inevitable

and appropriate, but violent protest is not. 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. We can't let them succeed. This is a time for this country to come together, to unite as Americans. There can never be any safe harbor for hate in America.

I've said it many times. The battle for soul of this nation has been a constant push and pull for more than 240 years, a tug of war between the American ideal that we're all created equal and the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart. At our best, the American ideal wins out. So we can't leave this moment or look away thinking our work is done. We have to look at it, We have to look as we did for those nine minutes and 29 seconds. We have to listen. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Those are George Floyd's last words.

We can't let those words die with him. We have to keep hearing those words. We must not turn away. We can't let those words die with him. We have to keep hearing those words. We must not turn away. We can't turn away. We have a chance to begin to change the trajectory in this country. It's my hope and prayer that we live up to the legacy. May God bless you. And may God bless George Floyd and his family. Thank you for taking the time to be here. This regards to the murder verdict of Derek Chauvin.

It is 7.22 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It was about two hours and 20 minutes ago when this is what took place in the courtroom in Minneapolis when the nation and the world found out the fate of Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd. All rise for the jury. All right, please be seated. Members of the jury, I will now read the verdicts as they will appear in the permanent records of the 4th Judicial District. State of Minnesota, County of Hennepin. District Court, 4th Judicial District, State of Minnesota Plaintiff versus Derek Michael Chauvin, Defendant. Verdict, count one. Court file number 27, CR20-12646.

We, the jury in the above entitled matter, as to count one, unintentional second-degree murder while committing a felony, find the defendant guilty. This verdict agreed to this 20th day of April 2021 at 1 44 p.m. Signed juror four person juror number 19. Same caption verdict count two. We the jury in the above entitled matter as to count two third degree murder perpetrating an eminently dangerous act. Find the defendant guilty. This verdict agreed to this 20th day of April 2021 at 1.45 p.m. Signed by jury four person juror number 19. Same caption, verdict count three. We the jury in the above entitled matter as to count three, second degree manslaughter, culpable negligence,

creating an unreasonable risk, find the defendant guilty. This verdict agreed to this 20th day of April 2021 at 1.45 p.m. Jury for person 019. Members of the jury, I'm now going to ask you individually if these are your true and correct verdicts. Please respond yes or no. Jury number two, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes.

Jury number nine, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Jury number 19, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Juror number nine, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Juror number 19, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Juror number 27, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Juror number 44, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Juror number 52, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Juror number 55, are these your true and correct verdicts yes jury number 55 are these your true and correct verdicts yes jury number 79 are these your true and correct verdicts yes jury number 85 are these your true and correct verdicts yes jury number 89 is this your are these your true and correct verdicts yes jury number 91 are these your true and correct verdicts yes jury 91, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes.

Jury number 92, are these your true and correct verdicts? Yes. Are these your verdicts, so say you once, so say you all? Yes. Members of the jury, I find that the verdicts as read reflect the will of the jury and will be filed accordingly. I have to thank you on behalf of the people of the state of Minnesota for not only jury service, but heavy duty jury service. What I'm going to ask you to do now is to follow the deputy back into your usual room. And I will join you in a few minutes to answer questions and to advise you further.

So I'll rise for the jury. All right. Be seated. With the guilty verdicts returned, we're going to have Blakely. You may file a written argument as to Blakely factors within one week. The court will issue findings on the Blakely factors, the factual findings one week after that. We'll order a PSI immediately returnable in four weeks and we will also have briefing on after you get the PSI, six weeks from now, and then eight weeks from now, we will have sentencing. We'll get you the exact dates in a scheduling order.

Is there a motion on behalf of the state? The state would move to have the court revoke the defendant's bail and remanded him into custody pending sentencing. Bail is revoked, bond is discharged, and the defendant is remanded to the custody of the Hennepin County Sheriff. Anything further? All right. Thank you. We're adjourned. And that was the moment that took place today. Huge sigh of relief to folks all across this country and the world. Derek Chauvin was found guilty by a jury of his peers. Guilty on all three counts.

You heard the judge say sentencing will take place in eight weeks. Let's go to our panel. We've had a variety of people. Let me apologize. We've had some panelists who we had on. We could not get on because of breaking news. The very fluid situation here. We appreciate our previous panelists for being on.

And so we thank them so very much. Let me pull up right now. Would you mind Dr. Greg Carr, Chair, Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University. Terraine Bailey, she's still there. Of course. Thank you very much.

Of course, with the very much. Of course. With the Bailey Law Firm. And Reddit Hudson also joins us. Terraine, I want to go to you first. And that is you've heard Senator Klobuchar. You've heard Sherrilyn Ifill. You've heard President Joe Biden, Vice President Joe Biden. You've seen this reaction and the response to this verdict.

As a defense attorney, as someone who defends clients, this is one of those examples where if this had gone the other way, it would be a completely different reaction in this country today. This country would have been torn apart. I firmly believe that. In 1992, I was just 22 years old. I had no idea what could happen after the Rodney King verdict. But this morning when I woke up, I knew I knew that we were in the wake of something that could be really bad for our country if the jury did not come back with a verdict that celebrated George Floyd's life and honored his legacy and found that officer guilty of murder. And so it's a different feeling. You know, I think a lot of people were kept their children home. A lot of people were worried about what would happen if the jury came back not guilty and wonder, particularly for the African-American, the black jurors, how that could how that could be.

And I don't know if you all were looking at Derek Chauvin as he listened to the jury confirm their verdicts. But with three jurors, his eyebrows raised. And that said to me that he really thought he had those three jurors because he raised an eyebrow for three of them. And so it's impressive that this jury worked so hard to come up and do the right thing for this family, not just cattywampusly coming up with a verdict to say, let's keep the peace in this country, but doing the right thing because it was supported by the evidence. And as a defense attorney, you don't want this to be the case. But I tell you, when that verdict came back, when I got a text message saying the verdict is in, I knew that it could only be guilty because your goal as a defense attorney is to keep them out as

long as possible. That means somebody's fighting for you. And when they come back this quickly, that means you're more than likely lost. And that's what happened today. Dr. Greg Carr, the closing arguments ended yesterday. The jury did not spend a lot of time yesterday deliberating. But the reality is this. If they came back at eight o'clock this morning, that was a real quick, quick decision that this jury made. And I think it speaks directly to the type of case that prosecutors laid out. They made it easy for this jury to go into that room and say guilty, guilty, guilty. Yeah, I think it made it made it easy for them to do the thing that is so embarrassingly obvious that the fact that we would be overjoyed is a real measure of just how damaged African people are in

this country and just how deeply structurally corrupt this project, this American experiment is. They would have been out for 30 minutes had it been white on white. So I think, you know, I was in class actually with my students and we start class at 3.30, about 3.30, 3.40. And I got a text and someone said the verdict's being announced. So we immediately switched over to, hey, this is why y'all put this money on this network right here. Roland Martin unfiltered. So I didn't have to hear the talking heads. I didn't have to, you know, call one of my former students, Angela Porter, who's actually in Minnesota. She's an attorney and a law professor there.

And she talked to the students. She's been doing commentary every day on this work, on this trial. And we're very clear. And it was very interesting to listen to the students because most of the students there, 18 to 22, they were in elementary school or going to middle school when the Trayvon Martin verdict came down in Florida. And some of them kind of remember, but this is their first adult trip through this haze. And so, you know, listening to it and then, you know, almost immediately turned off all the commentators. I don't need to hear about the system work this time and we got to do more. No, no, no, no, no.

Let's be very clear. That jury would have had no choice had not race been involved. George Floyd, I think the power with George Floyd is that he's a regular guy with a regular family. As Dave Chappelle said, I mean, he's the guy. And so it was a perfect case. Everything's on video. You've got children involved, which might mean a sentencing enhancement for Chauvin once it comes back. And he's now put his fate in the hands of the judge, which is his best bet, probably. You've got everything on tape. You've got, I mean,

it was almost cinematic in its perfection. And finally, just in these initial comments, it leads me to think about all those other dramatic instance cases in voting rights. Dr. Gamalian in Tuskegee, where they drew a 28 sided geometric figure to somehow disfranchise all the black citizens in Tuskegee. And the Supreme Court had no choice but in Gamalian versus Lightfoot to give them or civil rights. For example, United States versus Price, the so-called Mississippi burning case, where you lynched these two white civil rights workers and this brother from Mississippi, and the Supreme Court had no choice but to stake this conviction on a criminal conspiracy civil rights violation. I think what we saw today was the United States of America bought itself 20 more minutes, because that's what is on trial. And believe me, they are not

out of the dock. Justice would be George Floyd being alive. There was no justice served today. There was conviction and there are three more cops to go and they'll probably take a plea. Dr. Delacy Davis, founder of the Black Cops Against Police Brutality. Dr. Carr just talked about that. Those other officers, they're going to go on trial in August. The sentencing will take place in two months for Derek Chauvin. We talked about this last week. And this should send a very loud and clear signal to every police officer who chooses to go cross that line. Don't think for a second you're going to easily get off like in the past. I'm not saying it's going to always happen in cases, but the bottom line is this here.

Every time an officer goes to prison, it should put something in the back of somebody else's mind. I need to do what's right and just when I'm handling suspects. I think you're on mute. I think your button's on mute. All right, folks, so let's get it in our control room. All right, now, the laser keep talking.

Let's see if we got you. Now we got you. Go ahead. Very well. I would agree with you. We talked about this last week. And what the hope is is that with the testimony of Chief Arredondo and all the other police officers who came forward, that it may become the inflection point to move the ball forward. I'm not convinced yet, because as we know, there is a code of silence and law enforcement

has inherently and continually not intervened on behalf of defenseless people and certainly when it comes to people of color. But if this is the beginning and we begin to see a series of these kinds of verdicts and findings, well, then I would say that the culture of law enforcement may begin to shift. But this is a big shift. And certainly this for today is a watershed moment. Reddit, we played that video there. Of course, folks, Reddit Hudson, he's the founder of the National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice, Reform and Accountability. Reddit, we played that video there and you saw that reaction.

Terrain talked about the reaction of Derek Chauvin. When they initially stood up, he put his hands behind his back. He knew the cuffs were coming. And then when they then said revoking bail, prosecutors said absolutely, revoked that bail. He knew when that jury came back that he was not walking out of that courtroom a free man? Yeah, once the verdict was read, he knew that he was probably going to be remanded to the custody of the court. But when he first looked over to the jury, I tend to agree with the attorney. He seemed surprised. He seemed genuinely shook by the decision of some of the jurors. I'm sure he didn't expect all of the jurors to go in his favor,

but I think he was surprised that some of them, or at least one of them, didn't favor the narrative that had been offered up by his nonsensical attorney, that the dangerous black guy was still a threat even after he was dead. Chauvin, if you remember, the way in which he sadistically murdered George Floyd was very casual about it. And that is the act of a man who fully expects that he's not going to be held accountable for the barbaric act he's in the process of committing. I think Dr. Carr really hit the nail on the head, as did Dr. Davis. You know, it's a moment, and it's a rarity for an officer to be held accountable, even for the most egregious acts of abuse, up to and including murder. We still have so much work in front of us, and it is a moment in which we need to fully engage that reality

and know that going forward, especially, you know the lane I stay in, especially black police officers, police officers from marginalized communities, current and former, especially those need to be ready to push back against the police unions and all of the resources that are going to be marshaled in anger, really, as a response to the call for systemic reform and addressing white supremacy and the systemic racism at the foundation of police culture and criminal justice and the fact that we are positioned to see movement on that. And that's the largest struggle of the country, man.

I would like to connect some other dots to it. When you look at, for example, Republicans across the nation pushing voter suppression so that they limit the power of the majority and pushing back against every kind of progress that is indicated by demographic changes and calls for reform and calls for remaking systems, you have to know that this is a part of a larger battle that we are going to have to stay fully, fully engaged in to be successful for not just this generation, but the generations that follow. To that particular point, I'm sorry, go ahead. I think somebody was jumping in there.

And if I heard him wrong, so let me go to Tehran. Tehran, that particular point there, and what I said to Sherilyn Ifill as well, there's going to be a far-right conservative pro-police reaction to this verdict. It is going to happen. It's going to happen. We already see their reaction to what happened following the election in Georgia in January and what happened when Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden were confirmed. So they are getting ready. But what we need to be getting ready for, particularly for 2022, because that seat in Georgia is vulnerable.

We need to be getting ready and talking about down ballot voting. You said earlier, all these elections are important. The attorney general, the district attorney, the state representatives, all of these offices are really important. And we can't just vote casually because these are the people that are making the decisions that are adversely impacting our lives.

But when I look at it, one of the things, as far as police reform, that's important to me is we have to get these officers back in our communities. These officers have to live with the people that they police and stop treating it like an occupied military operation. Because they come into our neighborhood, you've heard the defense attorney say they have to assess the risk of going into an urban, highly densely populated urban community. That's a dog whistle for a minority community. So we have to get these officers living with the people that they serve and becoming a part of that community.

Because when they just come in and do their job, then the citizens are just their job and just targets that just need to be eliminated. They need to be substantively involved in the community. Until that happens, this really isn't going to end. And then we need more mental health services for police officers. They need to be evaluated and assessed. And we're not doing that. And until we start getting hands on and determining if these people that we give a gun to and give the right to use deadly force,

we need to know, are they mentally equipped to have this job? Because right now we're not doing that. And so there's a lot that needs to change. But for me, they need to be in the community first. They need mental health evaluations. And then we can see things change from the top down. Greg Carr, what we're seeing right here, this is a live feed from Minneapolis. Folks are marching down the street. They are responding to, guys, if y'all could pull the audio up if you can, that'd be great. They're responding to, so we don't have that. I said, Artie, that's fine. They're responding to what's taking place there. And what I did was what I did, Greg, while Terrain was talking, I went to the Twitter feeds of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Got it, Paul. Nothing regarding Derek Chauvin. Lots of talk about Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Went to the Twitter feed of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Zero. Nothing about this particular case here. If people want to understand, if they want to understand the difference, the difference in the reaction, the sheer silence of Republicans about this verdict. Yes, I'm I'm I'm encouraged to see that they're silent. about this verdict? Yes.

I'm encouraged to see that they're silent. You know, I often will ask white nationalists to say it with their bird chests. Right. Clearly, these little fellas don't even have the chest capacity, the air capacity of birds. They're silent now because it's

teetering. What we saw today in the Minneapolis courtroom was not as a result of perhaps a kinsman of theirs, Judge Peter Cahill, who had the nerve to put Maxine Waters' name in his mouth, while perhaps encouraging or not even encouraging, reminding the defense attorney, the hapless, rather incompetent Nelson, although he didn't have much work to begin with, that perhaps Maxine Waters' comments would be something that they could raise on appeal, because there will be an appeal. They're silent because they know it's teetering.

What we saw in Minnesota today was the result of an attorney general who did everything he could, a crack prosecutorial team, a multicultural team, which was, you know, pursued this as best they could. And even then, their only avenue to say it because he would not be in that office were it not for people who know it's a structural problem and put him there, not because he's a savior, because he is what we should expect him or Vice President or anybody else to be, a tool. So the silence of the white nationalists is encouraging because I think they sense more than anyone that it's teetering. This is the time now to seize the momentum and take it all down. What do I mean by that? I think for me, the most important moment today was the moment really with the moments

before the verdict. And why do I say that? Sitting with the students who are all over the country, so in real time reporting out to myself and to each other about the ramp up in police presence in Chicago, in Texas, out on the West Coast, these kids from all over the country, to understand that these police who are not the best, not the brightest, not the best in our society, but those who in order to reform policing, it seems to me that police have to be hired to be of the middle of the people on this call and you had on this show of the black people who see that as a service, as something they have to do.

Now that's going to require certainly mental screening and everything else, but it's going to require a rethinking of policing. They're fighting this tooth and nail. So last thing I'll say is this, as the money flows into the coffers of whatever reserve savings account they will have for Derek Chauvin, who they will treat as a hero for the rest of his life, no doubt, when he gets out of jail, as that money begins to flow, there's going to be a great deal of silence because what we see today in the silence of these white nationalists, including these little bird-chested white nationalist politicians like Kevin bird-chested McCarthy and the rest of them, what we're seeing in their silence is a recognition that there's a line that

you know should not be crossed. So you're going to have to sew your lips shut, because whatever you want to say out your mouth that you're not saying now, that is the extent of your courage. So don't say nothing. Don't say nothing now. Because if you do, you might find out that this thing will end sooner rather than later. But one thing's for sure, it's going to end. Delay to that point. Literally, we are our offices are located at 16th and K here in the nation's capital.

I mean, I can step outside of our door, take about 20, 30 steps and I'll literally be standing on Black Lives Matter Plaza. There's no parking in front of our building on the side of the building. 20, 30 steps, and I'll literally be standing on Black Lives Matter Plaza. There's no parking in front of our building on the side of the building. They blocked off parking from April 19th through May 1st, anticipating, I guess, this jury might be factoring these things in. Other police in other cities, the National Guard in Illinois was put on alert, request from Mayor Lori Lightfoot in Chicago and all of that. And the thing that maybe what this country needs to understand is when you kill folk, folk get sick and tired of seeing death. They get sick and tired of seeing folks killed and no justice being taken place.

They get sick and tired of it. And that's the thing. Literally, while I was sitting here in Columbus, a 15 year old who had a knife shot and killed by cops, reports say the knife was dropped. That 15 year old black. She's dead. And let's see if the officer had a body camera on. We'll see what goes on there. But that's really America is saying enough is enough. She is, Roland. I think that we are at the tipping point. As I saw in my class today, like Dr. Carr, my students, we agreed that we would go to the verdict during class.

And so we did. And I just watched their reactions in my class. My students are all different backgrounds from all over the country. And they cried at the verdict. I mean, cried huge tears. And I helped them process the verdict because they're tired. It is enough is enough. The problem is, as in Dr. Francis Cresswell's and lays this out for us in the ISIS paper, the keys to the colors is that folks who have been in power continually and generationally are now losing power and losing control. And they're going to have to face this. You know, we call it the Frankenstein theory. The monster you create, you ultimately will have to confront. And so white

nationalism, white supremacy, law enforcement, terroristic police officers, the whole kit and caboodle has to change. Because if in fact it were not structural, the same behavior that we see with black and brown people with the police we would see with white people with the police and we do not even when white suspects are armed they don't shoot them they walk them in talk them in and then go get them a burger so it is it is at a point where the world is demanding a change and our young people who have been in the streets are demanding a change and she'll have to deal with it one way or the other. I agree with the sister earlier. I live in the community and because I live in the community, my relationship with the community is very different.

When I go walk two, three miles, I'm unarmed. They know that I'm a retired officer and I know who the drug dealers are and it's a mutual respect. You function very differently when you live in the community as opposed to when you occupy the community. And that point there, Reddit, is important. Today, I'm going to pull it up a second. Today in your city, Tashara Jones was sworn in as the new mayor. She's going to be the inauguration takes place tomorrow. We will be live streaming that right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. So folks, y'all can actually tune in to that. This is the photo of her being sworn in today. And one of the things that she was asked is again, about police officers in St. Louis living in the city.

The mayor of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, where Donte Wright was gunned down, said same thing. They're gonna have to address an issue of, again, police living in the city. In so many different places, you have cops who are living in other cities, other towns. They just simply come in, work, they go back home. They don't know those places, so you don't have that relationship that DeLacy was talking about, that you've talked about, that Terrain was talking about, with community. So therefore, you really do have strangers coming into city neighborhoods who don't even know the people.

Hey, you're right. Tashara Jones was sworn in today here in St. Louis, something we are all very excited about. It is representative of the kinds of change that we've been talking about for the last few weeks on your show and what is possible going forward when we collect our power and we're intentional about addressing systemic change. We have that opportunity here and I think we're going to follow through. Relative to residency piece, man, yeah, I think it's important that officers stay in the communities that they serve. But at the same time, your humanity should be larger than that.

I could be an officer anywhere in this country, man. I'm going to deal with human beings the way that I was born to deal with human beings, with some compassion, with some level of understanding, with a sense of their inherent dignity and rights to enjoy the rights that are bestowed upon them by the Constitution, too. So it shouldn't be determinative that you physically are located in the community, you police, but it should be determinative if your responsibilities that you've accepted and been empowered by the state to act on no matter where you are. And if you can't do that, if you can't live up to those things, if you feel that it ought of you to be a police officer, you need to be able to violate people's human rights, civil rights,

and civil liberties, carte blanche, then you don't need this job. And if you do that, you need to be held accountable. Accountability, as I've said in the past, is the best training tool we have. The remaining officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have now received excellent training relative to what not to do by seeing what happened to Derek Chauvin today. Sergeant Cheryl Dorsey joins us right now. She, of course, retired LAPD, author of Black and Blue. And Cheryl, we had you on. We're talking about this very issue in terms of accountability. That's what this verdict speaks to what you're from your perspective, what's going through the minds of white cops all across this country now that they saw Derek Chauvin lay out of that courtroom in handcuffs?

Well, it's difficult for me to speak to, you know, what's in the mind of a white man. But I would I would think that there's certainly a contingency of white police officers now who are going to be given pause because what's worked for them in the past, reckless abandon in our communities, doesn't seem to be holding much weight right now. But listen, this is just a small step. We've got a long way to go. We've got so many others. And in the midst of all of this, we've seen officers fail to show any impulse control. And just a couple of days ago, Dante Wright, a young Adam Toledo, shot and killed by a police officer with 26 years on the job, who said she grabbed her gun instead of her taser. And so this is a great first step. We've got to wait and see what sentencing looks like. Understand he's a

first-time offender and we need to have a sentence commiserate with the crimes that he's been convicted of. And so what we'll really be telling is how officers comport themselves going forward. You know, this is something here that, and we heard family members talk about justice. We've heard others talk about justice. But George Floyd is still dead. Gian doesn't have a father.

And so this is the reaction to the death. But it's still hollow because it's not coming back. Chauvin can go to jail for the next 50 years. Doesn't bring someone back. Yeah. And listen, I mean, we've seen some, you know, convictions in other cases, certainly in the

case of Laquan McDonald, we saw a conviction. Roy Oliver over in Texas who shot and killed a young teenage black child. And so we won't really know if this is going to have any resonance with police officers until we see how they comport themselves going forward. The next time they're confronted by a black man who scares them just because he is, will they shoot? Will they feign that they don't know the difference

between a taser and a duty weapon? Will they roll the dice to see whether or not this was just a one-off with Derek Chauvin and maybe they will be dealt with in a way that's very different? And so I'm appreciative of the jury being compelled by the command staff. I don't know if this is going to be the new norm or if this is just what they could not do differently in this case, given the mountain of evidence that spoke to there was a violation,

this was a murder, this wasn was a violation. This was a murder. This wasn't a mistake. We'll see. There are some folk who don't quite get this terrain and gray car. The Los Angeles Raiders literally just posted this on their Twitter feed. Go to my computer. That may not be the response you want to issue today, Terrain.

I see you ready to jump in. Go right ahead. I mean, it can be interpreted so many ways, and because it can be interpreted wrong, it's the wrong statement. I mean, if they want to say that the Black community can finally breathe and we can finally exhale, then they should have said it plainly. But to say I can breathe, I mean, I don't know which way that cuts. And I'm from Los Angeles, so I'm a little bit concerned about this statement. That whole point in the defense's closing about everyone who gets arrested doesn't want to get arrested and they always claim that they cannot breathe spoke volumes to how that defense attorney saw the issue with Black suspects

when they're being arrested and trying to explain their plight. And he said they should just be still. And then because they're using up air, if you can talk, you can breathe. And I think it is pretty profound that our president talked about being able to breathe, that we need to listen when people say they cannot breathe. So when you post something that says I cannot breathe, you better have good intention and not let that post be open to interpretation

that does not serve you well. And so I hope the Raiders can explain it because I don't know what they mean by that. I dare say, Greg Carr, that this verdict gives fuel to freedom fighters to keep going. That they're protesting, they're marching, it's not in vain. Republicans have criticized Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

In fact, 210 Republicans voted today to censure her. They said nothing about Matt Gaetz. And the thing here that I think is important is Congresswoman Waters said if there's no guilty verdict, she said, keep pushing, keep putting pressure on them. This system doesn't have never changed for black people unless we apply maximum pressure, Greg. That's true. I take that vote as a badge of honor. I'm glad they voted that way. They wouldn't vote to censor Matt Gates because he didn't engage in any behavior that they don't condone, that they don't support. I mean, you know, you don't find pornography in pre-colonial Africa. You find it coming out of France. Pornographia, literally the writing of harlots. Women are not human beings. I mean,

they celebrate after all. Wasn't he showing those photographs of those young girls on the floor of the House of Representatives? No, they wouldn't. Why would they censor him for something they support? You know, not even a month after Martin King gave his famous, I have a dream speech, we got the reply. We got the response at the 16th Street Baptist Church. The police in Columbus are sending a message. It's business as usual.

And I'm glad, Sergeant Dorsey, you said what you said, sister, because Kim Potter, you're next in the dock, along with these other three, Tom Tao and Thomas Lane and Alexander Kuhn. I mean, y'all are in the dock now. This isn't a bad apples. It's time to shake the whole tree. And Dr. Davis, yeah, man, I was listening to you, brother, and you quote Francis Quest Welles, and there it is right there. This is about white nationalism. And so the fuel that we get today should be invigorating, because, you know, taking out Derek Chauvin is just a reminder that when you combine a strategy, it was the people

in the street that led to this verdict. It was an elected official, the state attorney general, that led to this verdict. It was people keeping the pressure on in every way that led to this verdict, which means there is no either or. Everybody out there is saying voting doesn't matter, everything. I mean, you know, Terraine, you just said it. I mean, all of the elections down ballot, up ballot, all the way across, combined with external pressure. And so when we close our eyes, if Reverend Sharpton prays, I grew up in the church. I see Reverend Jackson back there. I'm glad to see the brother, you know, pray. But guess what? When you open your eyes, understand that God has equipped you with everything you need to win.

If you don't take your eye off the prize. I'm glad they censored him, voted to censor Maxine Waters, because that's what devils do. The last thing you want them to do is agree with you. Come on, y'all, get up and say it with your little bird chest, because the reckoning is coming and you can't stop the running. Delacy, I had on the state's attorney Brave Boy on yesterday. There are 15 cops she will not allow to take the stand or involve in the cases because they have questionable character or conduct. What you're seeing is to the point that Terrain mentioned, we have down ballot races. This is the effect of black district attorneys, of black state attorney generals,

individuals who are not just black, but who are progressive, who understand that. Because there's a contrast between a Keith Ellison in Minnesota and that fool in Kentucky. That's right. I mean, there's a clear distinction between what happened here in Minnesota and what happened in Kentucky. Here you had a state attorney general who was determined to see this case go to trial and determined to give the lawyers trying that case all the resources that they needed to seek the justice for this family and put forth a strong case. In Kentucky, that man, who he's definitely not Kim, folks, his goal was never to see those officers indicted. He lied, and that still needs to be addressed.

He lied. If it wasn't for those very brave grand jurors who said, oh, no, no, sir, that's not what we said, we would never have known the truth about what happened with that grand jury. So I'm hoping that there's still justice for Breonna Taylor and her family once that gets taken over by the feds, because that attorney general, he needs to go. And the black voters in Kentucky know nothing else. They know he needs to go. Delacey, your final comment. My final comment is that I'll leave it with this that francis chris welson says there's nine people area activities that are dominated by white supremacy if we want justice then we must get in those systems tear them down and or reform them and their education economics entertainment labor

law politics war sex and religion today war run won and so did our people. Just for today. We still have to push for tomorrow. Reddit, final comment. Yeah, I work for one of the most progressive and courageous circuit attorneys in these United States. Her name is Kim Gardner. She is about systemic reform and addressing that issue. We have to be mindful, though, what Republicans have done beyond showing themselves to just be racists and criminals is very strategically position themselves in state legislatures around the country. We're going to have to be strategic and intentional about how we break down the structures that will block us from using the power that we have going forward. Cheryl Dorsey, final comment. I would just say that we need to remain vigilant. And while

there's talk about this George Floyd Justice and Reform Act, I don't know that it's going to pass the Senate. But certainly what needs to be done is in addition to attacking qualified immunity is data certifying police officers who are found in violation of police misconduct and or law so that they don't have the benefit of resigning and then moving on to a neighboring department. Terraine? You know, we had a lot of conversation about police reform, but it's the entire justice system that needs to be reformed. We need to start looking at the judges that we have out there that are sitting on the bench. Just last week in Colorado, a judge had to resign because she was using the N-word with her staff.

So she resigned on Friday. We need to look at the judges that are hearing the cases of our Black and our Brown families, of our Black and Brown defendants. We need to clean house in the police department. So that means we need to vote. And we need to take every election seriously. There's not one election that we have that's not important. And so we have to just start really drilling that into our community.

It doesn't matter that there's not a presidential election going on. It doesn't matter that we don't have a black person on the ballot for Senate. What matters is we need to vote all the way down to the local level. Dr. Carr, take us home. No, brother, that's always on you. I'm glad to chip my two cents in. Listen, I agree with everything that we've heard. It's full spectrum.

We have to now press the advantage. This is a moment to take a moment, and God bless the Floyd family, just like God bless Sabrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. God bless, of course, Leslie McSpadden and Mike Brown Sr. God bless all the families, including the one of this child who's just had her life taken away from her by the patarolas in Columbus. At the same time that we're doing that, we understand that now is not the time to rest. It is time to press the advantage. I think I might understand what the Oakland Raiders,

what the Las Vegas is. I can't keep up. Yeah, now they're in Las Vegas. Las Vegas, right. But actually, that's probably ironic because they are gambling. I think I understand what they mean when they say I can breathe. They don't mean any of us. They mean they as a franchise in the NFL who put out a release a couple of days ago saying they stand for social justice. They're hedging their bets. By breathe, they think what they're really saying, I think is I can exhale. We're past it. Nah, chief. Maybe the problem is you can breathe.

And by you, I mean the corporations. I mean the corrupt elected officials. Everybody trying to stand in the way of human justice. It's time to choke the breath out of the system that enables you. So maybe you shouldn't be breathing as an entity. Maybe we need to redistribute that pain as you often remind us, something about Paul Robeson, as you remind us, Roland. So I think today is a day we can look ourselves in the face and say, you know what? This proves that when we are together, we can win. So now that we just punched this cat out, who's next?

Folks, while we focused on the George Floyd case, to Greg's point, go to my computer, please. Literally, as the George Floyd, excuse me, the Derek Chauvin verdict was being read at that very moment. Police in Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed 15 yearyear-old Makia Bryant. And like in too many other cases, according to this tweet by Lacey Crisp, who is a reporter there, they say she called cops for help because girls were fighting outside her house. Makia, 15 years old, is dead.

It doesn't end. So we will be covering that. I'm already communicating with Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who is the congresswoman from Columbus. We're literally texting right now. And she says she's on with people in the district right now. So we will be covering this tomorrow. Let me thank all of our folks. Folks, the reason this show is important. More than 10,000 of you watching live on YouTube. More than 2000 on Facebook. Folks watching on Twitter as well. Because we have the opportunity to hear from black experts, our folks. So Bernarda Villalon, I want to thank you. A. Scott Bolden, Terrain Bailey, Monique Presley,

Sherrilyn Ifill with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Senator Amy Klobuchar. I was on the show, Davon Love. My apologies, could not get to you. We had folks like Linda Sarsour who we're trying to bring on, but because of all the breaking news, the news conference and things along those lines, we cannot do that. And again, also want to thank DeLacy, Greg Carr, Reddit Hudson, all for being with us and joining with us, folks. This is why we created this platform. So we would not have to depend on others to offer the kind of perspective that we need. Thanks, Cheryl Dorsey, as well.

So we had a fantastic guest today on for almost three hours broadcasting today. And so we thank all of you. Thank our staff for also making this thing possible as well. And so this is why we ask you to support what we do. We're independent. We don't have to ask anybody's permission to do what we do. We get to cover this from our perspective. And so if you want to support what we do here at Roland Martin Unfiltered, please join our Bring the Funk fan club by going to cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered. Please join our Bring the Funk fan club by going to Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, paypal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered, venmo.com forward slash

rmunfiltered. Zelle is rolling at rollinsmartin.com, rolling at rollinmartinunfiltered.com. You can also send, of course, money over to New Vision Media Inc., 1625 K Street, Northwest, Suite 400, Washington, D.C., 2006. Folks, again, thanks a bunch. Please keep the George Floyd family in your prayers. Even though there's a sigh of relief from them, you saw those tears of joy of the verdict. They still don't have their brother, their father, their lover, their cousin, their uncle, their friend. And so we certainly remember him and also the so many people who have not gotten justice in similar cases. That's it for us. Thank you so very much, folks.

It is indeed a good day that Derek Chauvin is sitting right now in jail. And we'll learn in two months how long he'll be sitting in a Minneapolis prison for the murder of George Floyd. We'll see right back. A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it.

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