Nation reacts to Derek Chauvin verdict: Live updates

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described a city “gripped in grief” in the 11 months since George Floyd died while in police custody, as many residents took to the streets Tuesday to celebrate the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.

“This is a good day in Minneapolis,” Frey said during a press briefing a few hours after the verdict was announced. “But let me be exceedingly clear: This is day one.”

People celebrate the guilty verdict in the Dereck Chauvin trail at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer was found guilty of all three charges in the murder of George Floyd.

“Justice has been rendered in this case, but we still have a long way to go to achieve true justice in our city and in our country,” he said, noting that the city is “piloting new ways of policing” in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

The mayor said he was “relieved” by the verdict, and thanked the jurors and witnesses who testified.

“We all wanted to see justice, we all wanted to make sure that, again, this was day one of the necessary change that we needed to see,” Frey said. “And I think we all were nervous that what has happened on so many occasions, through our judicial system, where we wouldn’t see that justice would happen.” 

People react after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021.

The verdict comes as the city is also reeling from the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright while being detained by police last week in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb. The shooting sparked widespread protests.

A curfew has not been issued for Tuesday night, “although that certainly remains an option on the table if necessary,” Frey said. “That is not the desired approach, but it is an option that will be available.”