After guilty verdict in George Floyd killing trial, much pain expressed in Fresno gathering
Approximately 50 people gathered near City Hall in downtown Fresno on Tuesday evening to express their thoughts and feelings of the verdict in the George Floyd killing trial.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd, with the May 2020 incident caught on video and sparking a nationwide outcry for racial justice.
Though justice had been delivered in the Floyd killing trial, there wasn’t much celebration Tuesday evening at the gathering in front of Fresno City Hall.
Instead, much pain and frustration could be heard in people’s voices, knowing the fight for racial equality is still long from over.
And so is the ongoing battle against police brutality, especially against the Black community.
“I didn’t feel like we got 100% justice,” said event organizer D’Aungillique Jackson, who is chapter president of the NAACP at Fresno State.
“George Floyd should’ve never lost his life. The system should’ve been reformed years ago — hundreds of years ago. We should’ve never gotten to this point.
“But the justice we did get,” Jackson continued, “I hope that it meant the world and gave the Floyd family some peace. ... It’s what we needed to see.”
Among those present at Tuesday’s gathering was Mayor and former Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, along with current Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama.
Pastor James Parks, who provided the opening prayer for Tuesday’s gathering, said he understood people’s need to vent about the current climate between the Black community and law enforcement.
“I was hoping it would be more of a healing event,” Parks said. “I appreciate people’s rights to express their views.
“People need to vent, not throw rocks and stones at buildings.”
Parks also said he was relieved to learn that Chauvin was found guilty.
The jury was comprised of four Black, six white and two multiracial jurors, and deliberated for 10 1/2 hours over two days before reaching a verdict.
“That was a major relief, because you never know what a jury might do,” Parks said. “One person could’ve hung that jury. It might’ve turned into something really bad for not just Fresno but other parts of the country.”
Near the end of Tuesday’s event, political activist Monique McNeal approached the George Floyd art display and added a name on a long list of names written of people who’ve been killed by police: Ma’Khia Bryant.
She’s the 16-year-old girl in Columbus, Ohio, who was shot and killed by police earlier Tuesday.
“Shot four times in the chest,” McNeal said. “Sad.
“It’s probably never going to end. ... It’s going to keep going until we try to defund the police, tear the system down.”
Chauvin, meanwhile, faces a 40-year maximum sentence for the second-degree unintentional murder of Floyd, as well as a 25-year sentence for third-degree murder and a 10-year sentence for second-degree manslaughter.
His sentencing is expected to come in the next two months.
“Just grateful for the verdict,” Jackson said. “It’s the turning point that we need.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 9:20 PM.
