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Governor, Worcester NAACP React to Verdict in Chauvin Trial

By TWIW Staff | April 20, 2021
Last Updated: April 20, 2021

Governor Charlie Baker and the Worcester National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] both issued statements shortly after a Minnesota jury convicted a former police officer of Murder.

The jury convicted former Police Officer Derek Chauvin, 45, of second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter for his role in the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis.

Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison.

Floyd died after being handcuffed and face down with Chauvin kneeling on the back of his neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Floyd was 46-years-old at the time of his death.

Baker called the situation that led to Floyd’s death “horrific” and said the jury’s “… decision does make clear that Officer Chauvin was not above the law.”

Baker called law enforcement reform in Massachusetts, enacted in January, “… one of the most comprehensive police training, transparency and accountability laws in the country,” and that “we owe it to all those whose lives have been lost to do all we can to successfully implement that law, and sustain its aspirations far into the future.”

The Worcester NAACP issued its own statement shortly after the verdict was announced. It said the verdict does not give relief, does not bring joy and is only a start.

It also said that “This case and verdict sends a message to officers sworn to ‘serve and protect’. Your brothers and sisters will not always sit quietly when you desecrate the badge.”

Image Credit: McGhiever, Hennepin County Government Center 2018, CC BY-SA 4.0

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