Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is reportedly on suicide watch at his maximum security prison after he was found guilty on all three counts of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
“Chauvin is being closely watched by guards to ensure his safety, not just as a suicide risk, but also from other inmates with violent criminal histories, many of whom resent law enforcement,” the Daily Mail reported.
Chauvin on Tuesday was found guilty in the murder of George Floyd. The 12-member jury deliberated for just 10 hours after a three-week trial before finding him guilty on three charges. Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison for second-degree unintentional murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder, and up to 10 years for second-degree manslaughter. Sentencing is due to take place in eight weeks, Judge Peter Cahill said.
Chauvin faces a minimum of 12.5 years and a maximum of 40 years if he serves terms for each charge concurrently. If served consecutively, Chauvin faces between 29 and 75 years in prison.
After being found guilty, Chauvin was led away from court in handcuffs. Photos showed he had numbers written on one hand — reportedly the phone number of his lawyer. Chauvin was taken to MCF-Oak Park Heights Prison, where he will be held until sentencing.
Chauvin is expected to file a swift appeal, and Judge Cahill said he may have a case.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) on Saturday flew into Minnesota and joined the seventh consecutive night of protests in a Minneapolis suburb over the death of Daunte Wright, a young black man shot dead by a white police officer who had sought to arrest him over a warrant after a traffic stop.
“We’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational,” Waters said as she spoke to crowds of demonstrators. “We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business,” she said, adding, “We’ve got to fight for justice.”
The next day, two National Guardsmen were injured after being fired at in what authorities said was a drive-by shooting in Minneapolis. Both suffered minor wounds.
Waters’ words came just before closing arguments in the trial of Chauvin. Judge Cahill took note of Waters’ call for confrontation.
Cahill was asked by Eric Nelson, the defense attorney, to declare a mistrial due to Waters’ comments at a Brooklyn Center protest on Saturday night. Cahill denied the request but added, “I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.”
“I’m aware that Congresswoman Waters was talking specifically about this trial and about the unacceptability of anything less than a murder conviction and talk about being confrontational,” Cahill later added. “This goes back to what I’ve been saying from the beginning. I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function.”
“I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a respectful and in a manner that is consistent with their oath to the Constitution, to respect a co-equal branch of government. Their failure to do so I think is abhorrent.”
Related: Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty