George Floyd anniversary: Minneapolis events to mark year since death as Biden ‘eager’ to meet family

The Independent’s Josh Marcus, who covered the Chauvin trial will be avaliable to answer your questions about George Floyd, the legal case against his killer, and what comes next, from 6pm BST on Tuesday.

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It was when people said this needs to stop. It was when millions of Americans marched to say no more.

It was a defiant insistence that what had become business as usual – the routine killing by police of unarmed people of colour in what should be everyday interactions – was no longer acceptable.

And yet a year after the murder of 46-year-old George Floyd, the life literally squeezed out of him at a Minneapolis intersection by Derek Chauvin, as worried witnesses urged the officer to stop – and later millions watched around the world – the killings have not stopped.

Andrew Buncombe and Josh Marcus have more:

George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis sparked a movement not just in the US but around the world, bringing forth a global reckoning around race.

In Britain, demonstrators mobilised and took to the streets not just in solidarity but in protest at frustration with racism and policing in the UK. They carried placards with messages such as “The UK is not innocent”, taking aim at slaver statues and colonial relics. Hundreds of petitions urged institutions to tackle systemic inequalities, from the national curriculum to the black maternal mortality rate.

Now, one year on, how much progress has been made?

In a wide-ranging interview with Associated Press this week, mayor Jacob Frey touched on what was next for the block where George Floyd was killed that has since been dubbed “George Floyd Square”.

Local activists acting as unofficial custodians of the square have a “list of demands” before allowing the city to reopen the intersection, according to AP.

Frey said told the outlet the square would remain focused on racial justice and healing with long-term plans to memorialize Floyd at the site. He said the city would invest in black-owned businesses while also providing services to an area harmed by gun violence.

“This is a beautifully diverse community. … It’s a community that deserves to feel safe,” he said, adding that there would be a phased reopening that would be a “safe and peaceful reconnection”.

After just one day of deliberation on the verdict, the 12-member jury in Minnesota found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. All those three different charges have slightly different meanings, writes Bethany Dawson.

In Minnesota, second-degree murder is defined as a killing that was not premeditated, or is caused by reckless conduct without obvious concern for human life.

Third-degree murder is known as a “depraved-heart murder”, that is caused without intent to kill but is inherently dangerous and thus conducted without consideration for human life.

The final charge that Chauvin has been found guilty of is second-degree manslaughter, which occurs when a person continues an act that they know is reckless, despite potentially fatal risks. A manslaughter charge, however, comes when there is no intention to take a life.

While attorneys for Derek Chauvin will have to notify the trial court within 60 days if they plan to appeal, the court has already scheduled sentencing for the three charges he was found guilty on 16 June at 1.30pm local time.

In Minnesota, the state wherein Floyd died and Chauvin has been on trial for his death,  second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Third-degree can see someone have 25 years in prison, and Second-degree manslaughter is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Theoretically, these charges could see Chauvin get 75 years in prison. However, state law dictates that the convicted is sentenced only to the most severe count against them – in this case, that would be a maximum of 40-years for second-degree murder. . In this instance, Judge Cahill could opt to ignore state law, but this would be unusual.

While Derek Chauvin was found guilty on three counts for the murder and manslaughter of George Floyd, federal authorities conducted their own investigation on civil rights charges.

A grand jury indicted Chauvin along with Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao for allegedly using their positions as police officers to deprive Mr Floyd of his constitutional rights.

By “willfully” failing to aid Mr Floyd, lying on the ground in need of medical care, the indictment says the four deprived Mr Floyd’s right to be free from “deliberate indifference” to serious medical needs.

Mr Chauvin also allegedly “willfully deprived” Mr Floyd of being free from unreasonable seizure, “which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer”.

The mayor of Minneapolis says his city has experienced one trauma after another this past year — and the Black community has felt the most pain.

As Mayor Jacob Frey pushes ahead with a public safety proposal that he says will help keep neighborhoods safe and hold police accountable, he is reflecting on lessons learned and where the city goes from here.

“Right now, our city has come and has seen a moment of racial reckoning, perhaps hundreds of years in the making. There is a true acknowledgement that the way we have done things in the past is not acceptable,” Frey told The Associated Press this week.

“I think the next step that everybody is looking for is to be able to galvanize and channel all of that collective energy and pain and frustration to getting true progress,” he said.

City leaders have been under pressure to change policing since the 25 May death of George Floyd. Some of Frey’s proposals include immediate changes, such as prioritizing funding for additional cameras in high-crime areas. Frey said his plan would also address disparities in traffic stops by committing to ending stops for low-level offenses, such as a busted taillight.

Frey believes not every 911 call requires an officer with a gun to respond, and his plan will target resources toward the city’s Office of Violence Prevention, as well as address some root causes of crime, such as inadequate housing and job opportunities.

Congress won’t meet Joe Biden’s deadline for getting critical police reform legislation on his desk, as a bipartisan group of lawmakers continue to debate how to hold officers accountable for killing people in the line of duty, writes The Independent’s Alex Woodward.

“While the White House is encouraged by bipartisan negotiations, Congress has yet to agree on the contours of federal legislation to be named in Mr Floyd’s honour, with Democrats pushing for changes to a controversial policy that effectively prevents officers from facing prosecution.

“Republicans have argued that weakening those protections could expose police officers and agencies to excessive lawsuits. A compromise bill offered up by Republicans would retain immunity provisions for individual officers and instead allow victims or people alleging police misconduct to sue their police departments.”

After meeting with Joe Biden, the family of George Floyd intents to meet with the Speaker of the House plus senators from both Democrat and Republican sides of the aisle, according to lawyer Ben Crump via White House correspondent Peter Alexander.

The goal is to “keep momentum going” Crump tells Alexander.