Contact:
Brittany Holder
202-297-7244
[email protected]
WASHINGTON – In response to the guilty verdict in the trial of officer Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd last summer sparking a nationwide reckoning about race and policing in America, AFGE National President Everett Kelley released the following statement:
“Finally, some measure of justice has been done in the tragic killing of George Floyd. While no court can bring him back to life and fill the hole left in the hearts of his friends and family, today’s verdict brings some measure of peace for all Americans who were shocked to our core by the video of Derek Chauvin killing George Floyd in plain daylight.
“It’s gratifying to see today that a central principle of American justice has been upheld. No one is above the law. It is my fervent hope that today’s verdict can be a catalyst for positive change, uniting us all in the pursuit of real, systemic criminal justice and policing reforms with broad support that can help us build a future where these killings stop happening.”
District 8 National Vice President Gregg James, who represents federal workers in Minnesota, added, "I am so incredibly proud of the Minneapolis and Minnesota communities -- from the activists on the ground pushing for justice to the leadership who prosecuted this case. It has been such a tremendously trying time for all of us, but I am so proud of the way we've come through this together and set our community, our state, and the nation on a path toward a brighter future."
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