Arizona leaders react to Chauvin guilty verdict in George Floyd’s death

PHOENIX — Arizona leaders reacted Tuesday after a jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges in the May 2020 death of George Floyd in Minnesota.

The jury, made up of six white people and six Black or multiracial people, found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, with the most serious charge carrying up to 40 years in prison.

Floyd died last May after Chauvin, a 45-year-old now-fired white officer, pinned his knee on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted the ruling brings justice in the death of Floyd.

Today’s decision by the jury in Minneapolis brings justice in the death of George Floyd, but across the country & across our state we must remain committed to ensuring something like this never happens again. I ask all Arizonans to react to the news peacefully & respectfully. 2/2

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) April 20, 2021

Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone echoed Ducey.

Our judicial system may not be perfect, but it was designed to seek justice. Today, justice was served.

— Paul Penzone (@Penzone4sheriff) April 20, 2021

Democratic U.S. Reps. Tom O’Halleran, Ann Kirkpatrick, Raul Grijalva and Greg Stanton as well as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema recognized the ruling as a step in the right direction for trust and equity.

“I hope this trial’s conclusion brings some level of healing and solace to George Floyd’s loved ones, as we continue working toward a future in which all Americans have equal protection under the law,” Sinema said in a statement.

That starts in Congress, where the Senate must do what the House did more than a month ago: pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Failing to move forward on this bill—or allowing it to die by filibuster—would be a grave injustice.

— Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) April 20, 2021

Going forward, we must commit to the important, ongoing work needed to address systemic racism and rebuild broken trust between police and the communities they serve. (2/2)

— Rep. Tom O’Halleran (@RepOHalleran) April 20, 2021

Today, the jury stood with the people and reaffirmed the fact: #BlackLivesMatter. George Floyd’s life mattered. We have to hold our systems accountable, over and over again, and thankfully, that is what the jury did today. (1/3)

— Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (@RepKirkpatrick) April 20, 2021

I’m committed to working with the Biden-Harris Administration and the millions of Americans calling for action. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act must become law and we must commit ourselves to the pursuit of justice for all. (3/3)

— Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (@RepKirkpatrick) April 20, 2021

We must continue to ensure the movement George Floyd’s death inspired lives on in real, long-lasting transformations to policing and reforms to our criminal justice system.

Chauvin was held accountable today, but the fight for justice continues.

— Raul M. Grijalva (@RepRaulGrijalva) April 20, 2021

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs called the verdict “an important step toward accountability.”

Nothing can ever bring back George Floyd, and clearly we have a lot of work to do, but this is an important step toward accountability. Praying for the family of Mr. Floyd, and hoping this verdict brings them some measure of peace.

— Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) April 20, 2021

Arizona Sen. Martin Quezada called the guilty verdict a momentous day in American history, but more work needs to be done.

“We may have achieved justice in this trial, but Chauvin is only one officer who was held accountable, and George Floyd is still dead,” Quezada said in a statement.

“The fact that there was uncertainty and hopelessness about the outcome of the verdict, after overwhelmingly clear evidence that Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, is reflective of how much work we need to do to achieve true justice for Black and Brown victims of police violence in America. We should use this verdict as the starting point for real reform of how we envision and guarantee public safety in our communities.

“It’s time we hear the voices that have been protesting for generations about police brutality against communities of color. If “a riot is the language of the unheard” as Martin Luther King Jr. has said, then policymakers have ignorantly had our heads in the sand for too long.”

Three other former Minneapolis officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd’s death will stand trial in August.

In the wake of Floyd’s death, demonstrations and scattered violence broke out in Minneapolis and around the country with numerous states and cities in the following months restricting the use of force by police, revamping disciplinary systems or subjecting police departments to closer oversight.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Follow @KTAR923