Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who kept his knee on the neck of George Floyd for more than nine minutes last year, was found guilty on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter in Floyd’s death.
Chauvin, 45, will face sentencing in eight weeks and could be sent to prison for decades.
Ahead of the verdict, businesses in downtown Dallas prepared for the possibility of unrest.
The Neiman Marcus flagship store took no chances after looters got into the retail store last year.
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They brought in a truckload of plywood and workers put up 2x4 frames around each of the big display windows.
In Fort Worth, the guilty verdict of Officer Derick Chauvin was widely celebrated – but it also came as a painful reminder to many who continue to push for justice after Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed by a police officer in Oct. 2019.
“Here in Fort worth we need to highlight it, it needs to be spotlighted for how long they have delayed this trial. Breonna Taylor’s trial is over and done with and she was killed 6-months after Atatiana Jefferson,” said Community Activist Patrice Jones.
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A trial date for former Fort Worth Officer Aaron Dean, who is charged with murder, has yet to be set. Jones and others believe deep inequities in Fort Worth, like other cities in North Texas, continue to drive problems when it comes to policing.
“Those kind of inequities have to be fixed and the pandemic and the unrest that occurred this summer, they unmasked all of that,” said Community Activist Dr. Michael Brooks.
