A year after the death of George Floyd at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a verdict has been determined and Chauvin has been charged with all three counts brought against him. Here’s how the last hour before the verdict went down.
3:25 p.m. Chauvin and his defense attorney Eric Nelson entered the courtroom and walked briskly to the defense table, eyes straight ahead. The two were accompanied by Nelson’s aide Amy Voss and a middle-aged white woman who sat in Chauvin’s family section. She declined to give her name.
3:26 p.m. Members of the prosecution arrived for the verdict reading. Attorney General Keith Ellison was the first member of the prosecution team to enter the courtroom followed by prosecutors Matthew Frank, Steve Schleicher, and Jerry Blackwell. With the prosecutors came Philonise Floyd, brother to Floyd, who has been present often since the start of jury selection. Two deputies are in the chambers, one is sitting between Philonise and the unidentified woman.
3:35 p.m. Ellison took a seat at the front prosecution table, next to Blackwell. Frank and Schleicher are at the rear prosecution table. You could hear a pin drop if the courtroom wasn’t carpeted. All the attorneys were sitting very quietly, not talking with each other much. Ellison was taking notes on paper, Blackwell typing on a laptop, and Frank and Schleicher had their notepads out. Nelson and Chauvin also sat very quietly, not talking. Chauvin appeared to be looking down toward the front edge of his desk, at nothing in particular.
3:45 p.m. One of the court staffers, an older man, told the defense and prosecution teams that the jury had arrived.
3:50 p.m. Prosecutors huddled briefly around Ellison while Nelson and Voss exited the courtroom, leaving Chauvin behind. They returned at 3:51 p.m.
3:53 p.m. The court staffer distributed documents to the attorneys.
4:00 p.m. Philonise sat with his elbows on his armrests and hands clasped in front, looking downward, but it was not clear if he was praying or just weary.
4:03 p.m. The court reporter and a third deputy entered the courtroom.
4:04 p.m. All stood to their feet as Judge Cahill entered followed by the Jurors, all looking serious.
4:06 p.m. Judge Cahill read the verdicts as Chauvin stared at the empty witness podium. Cahill read the last verdict, then polled jurors, all of whom answered “yes.” Cahill thanked them on behalf of the state of MN for “heavy-duty jury service” They filed out and Chauvin stood with hands clasped behind his back.
4:10 p.m. Chauvin gave no resistance as a deputy handcuffed and escorted him to a side room. Philonise hugged Blackwell, Ellison, and the other prosecutor. Ellison and Blackwell heartily shook hands as the verdict reading ended.
