PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In 2020, some West Philadelphia neighborhoods were hot spots for protest and civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The Parkview Town Center at 52nd Street and Parkside Avenue was devastated by looting.
In sharp contrast on Tuesday, following the guilty verdict in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who killed Floyd, there was calm.
Businesses had boarded up their windows, expecting the worst, hoping for the best. Police stood on corners, waiting for civil unrest in West Philly, but it never came.
Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, men and women who live nearby in these neighborhoods said that the verdict gave them peace.
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"It's a victory for us. Finally, finally, someone is held accountable," said one woman.
"Relieved. Relieved. I'm not going to go out and celebrate, but I'm glad that he got convicted," said one man.
Many in the community said their next focus will be on the sentencing process. That is scheduled to take place in about eight weeks.
Splittin Wigs, a barber shop, is one of the businesses close to 52nd and Chestnut streets, where a lot of the break-ins and looting took place during the protests of George Floyd's murder last year.
This year, it was one of the few businesses in the area to stay open after the verdict came down, and it was one of the only ones where Black men in the neighborhood could congregate and offer social commentary.
Adam Walker, who stopped in to get a haircut, said he's cautiously optimistic.
"Well, I was glad to hear he was found guilty, but ... I won't be satisfied until he's sentenced," he said.
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Walker and others who stopped in said they hope a guilty verdict can lead to a changes in how their neighborhoods are policed.
In a statement released by the Philadelphia Police Department on Tuesday, Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said, "After [George Floyd's] death, the PPD, in conjunction with the mayor’s office, worked on a set of reforms to improve police responses when using force and to improve trust within our community. Among those changes were immediately reporting any use of force over police radio, the banning of certain holds -- particularly those that restrict or compromise an arrestee’s breathing, and the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement program."