After attending the selection of the first jurors, the cousin of George Floyd said Tuesday she was “confident” in the outcome of the trial of the policeman who killed this African American and triggered a anti-racist surge in all the United States.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Shareeduh Tate, who represented the Floyd family in the courtroom on the first day of the hearing, told AFP. trial of Derek Chauvin.
“The reason why we are here can never be a source of celebration, but we are happy that the legal process has started,” she added.
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“This reaction, the movement created, makes me optimistic”
On May 25 in Minneapolis, the white policeman held his knee to George Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, although he begged about twenty times: “JI can’t breathe” (“I can’t breathe”).
These were his last words and they became the rallying cry of awe-inspiring crowds who, from New York to Los Angeles, but also Paris or London, have been pounding the pavement for weeks to demand an end to the police violence and you racism.
“Very quickly we understood that it was much more important that our personal loss, “recounts Shareeduh Tate, 50, who came on purpose from Houston, Texas to Minneapolis, where the trial is being held.” This reaction, the created movement, make me optimistic that the outcome of the trial will be different “from the past,” she said.
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“I’m pretty sure we’ll get a fair jury”
Until now, American police officers were rarely prosecuted for excessive use of force and were still less often condemned, with jurors often tending to give them the benefit of the doubt.
But, after the mobilization of the summer, “I have confidence in the prosecutors and I am quite sure that we will have a fair and impartial jury”, estimates Shareeduh Tate.
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Without naivety, she admits all the same that the judicial system has its requirements and that “the simple video of the drama will not be enough to obtain immediately the conviction” of Derek Chauvin.
The trial of this 44-year-old policeman opened on Tuesday with the selection of the first three jurors. The debates will not get to the heart of the matter until March 29 and a verdict is not expected before the end of April. Members of the floyd family have planned to take turns to occupy in turn, and permanently, the only seat reserved for them in the courtroom. The seat assigned to relatives of Derek Chauvin is, him, remained empty Tuesday.
Original article published on BFMTV.com
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