As if frozen in the cold and the wait, the heart of Minneapolis (Minnesota) has stopped beating. In the wide avenues of the city center beaten by a winter wind particularly out of season, only the roar of screwdrivers and the dull blows of hammers disturb the silence. From time to time, workers are busy protecting the rare showcases still discovered with large plywood panels.
Opposite the town hall, which looks like a châtelet, high fences, concrete blocks and rolls of barbed wire prevent access to the city court, guarded by soldiers and police. On the upper floors, the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused of the murder of George Floyd, whose death filmed live sparked protests around the world in the spring of 2020, has been held for three weeks.
The hearings ended Thursday, April 15 and the authorities fear disturbances at the announcement of the verdict, expected before the end of the month. The climate in the city and its surroundings has become even more tense in recent days, after the death on Sunday of Daunte Wright, a young mixed-race girl killed by a white policewoman during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, a few kilometers away. .
The outcome of the case remains uncertain
Despite a prosecution conducted with application by the prosecution against Mr. Chauvin, the outcome of this extraordinary case remains uncertain, subject to the unanimity of a jury of twelve people. “Several hypotheses are possible: cancellation of the trial if unanimity is not reached, a conviction with the possibility of appeal, an acquittal without the possibility of appeal”, explains David Schultz, professor of law at the University of Minnesota.
Outside the walls of the court, however, the case is heard. “Chauvin must rot in prison, then rot in hell”, proclaims a graffiti close to the building. To the south of the city, between the flowers and the candles that dot the asphalt corner where George Floyd died below the police officer’s knee, the same certainty is displayed.
“A murder with a badge [de policier] remains a murder “, defends a sign posed against a teddy bear. “Chauvin is a murderer”, also proclaim stickers affixed in the neighborhood. This conviction is unambiguously shared by Chloe Jackson, who walks, Wednesday, between the messages asking “Justice for George Floyd”.
This association manager, whose offices are next to the crossroads transformed into a motley memorial dedicated to the victims of police violence, has hardly any illusions. “Whatever it is, the verdict will not live up to my expectations, explains the African-American mother. Because the charges against Chauvin are not up to the drama. “ The officer is charged with second and third degree murder and manslaughter. Like many, the thirty, calm and restrained tone, would have wanted him to be prosecuted for intentional homicide.
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