CHICAGO — Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
People in Chicago watched the trial and verdict closely.
In the diverse Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, WGN News was at Soul Shack, one of the neighborhood’s popular restaurants when the verdict was announced.
Inside the eatery on the corner of South Kenwood and 53rd Street, employees and customers watched the announcement of the verdict, with their eyes fixed on large TV screens.
When the judge read the jury’s verdict some described a sense of closure and justice, though some said they won’t feel a sense of a relief until everyone feels safe and is treated equally under the law.
Armaria Rucker is a resident of Hyde Park.
“I wouldn’t use the term relief,” Rucker said. “We’re happy with the case but we still have a lot of people who never got the justice. We’re excited that this part went as planned, but for everyone else, we’ll be relieved when everyone receives justice and this stops happening to our culture and our people.”
“They did the right thing,” Dominic Mitchell said. “They finally gave a little justice to his family the ones he loved.”
Darren Anderson also lives in Hyde Park.
“My initial reaction is justice has been served,” he said. “We’ve been anticipating a lot of riot. So it’s like riots are not going to happen. Thank God. We can all relax and go about our normal lives now.”
Chicago Police Accountability Activist told WGN News that they view this as a significant case because of the number of police officers and officials who testified against Chauvin, which they say represents a crack in what some call the “blue wall” of silence.