Washington leaders react to Derek Chauvin verdict with calls for racial justice

A jury on Tuesday found former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts of the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin was the white police officer in the video from May 2020 who pinned his knee on the neck of Floyd, a Black man, ultimately killing him.

The murder set off a reckoning of race and policing with protests around the country carrying on throughout the summer. Chauvin was found guilty on three charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Less than a year later, after an anonymous jury announced a verdict Tuesday afternoon, Washington leaders reacted to the news.

Gov. Jay Inslee called on residents to "recommit themselves to a more perfect union" and end systemic racism in their communities.

"This was more than the death of one person. It was a trauma for George Floyd’s family, his children, the bystanders and indeed the entire nation. Weary families in so many communities, traumatized from images of brutality against Black and Brown and feeling no power to stop it, can take heart today that justice was served in this instance. Yet, there is still much work to do," Inslee said in a statement. "Let this be the beginning of progress rather than the end of one trial. Today’s sense of relief for some is fleeting. They know more must be done to prevent this from happening again and again."

Seattle King County NAACP President Carolyn Riley-Payne said they were "heartened" to hear the verdict, but not satisfied.

"This verdict shows that the thin blue line of police silence can be broken; that police officers have it within them to stand up and hold their fellow officers accountable; that prosecutors can muster the resources and evidence to secure a guilty verdict against police when they have the will do to so; and that juries are capable of seeing the truth, which is that Black and brown people in America continue to be killed by police for no other reason than the color of their skin," Riley-Payne said in a statement

She also said it should not take a national movement to bring justice for "a single Black man killed by a police officer."

Riley-Payne also named some of the victims in King County who died at the hands of Seattle police officers and King County Sheriff deputies, including Shaun Suhr, Charleena Lyles and Tommy Le.

"We must strive for a day when holding police accountable is routine," she said. 

During a news conference, she further said this was not a time to celebrate. There is a long way to go, she said. 

"How many press conferences do we have to have," she said. "How many times do we have to say the same thing."

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said that Chauvin "violated his most solemn duty to protect lives and uphold the law" and that Floyd's murder reflected "an all too often reality of the deep and systemic impacts of racism in our country."

"True justice demands that we admit, recognize and work to address those systemic inequities. True justice would have meant that George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner and countless others never suffered this fate," Durkan said. "Although he should still be here today jurors delivered justice for George Floyd’s friends, family, loved ones and the millions of Americans who mourned and marched for justice."

King County Executive Dow Constantine hoped the verdict "illuminates for us all the importance of standing up against racism and bias, in policing and the entire justice system, and in all other systems in our society that disproportionately harm based on race."

Despite receiving criticism for their own use of force against protesters, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) also released a statement following the verdict, calling Floyd's murder by an officer "soul crushing."

"The events of the past year have made clear the community’s expectations of what police work should be," SPD wrote. "The Seattle Police Department acknowledges the future of public safety is something we need to create together."

SPD noted several department-wide changes it had made since the racial justice protests of last summer, including banning neck restraints, choke holds and no-knock warrants. The department has also started to require implicit bias and active bystander training for officers.

Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said for him, the day represented a "very important and critical moment."

"Personally, for me, it was a day of relief and a day of belief," he said Tuesday during a news conference. "It's relief because hopefully it brings calm and peace to our community and belief because hopefully it restores belief in our justice system."

During a news conference, Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who also chairs the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, called on SPD to not to interfere with any peaceful protests and reduce their presence at legal demonstrations. However, she stopped short of calling the verdict justice.

"True justice for George Floyd will not be attained with this verdict. No verdict will restore George Floyd's life," Herbold said. "No verdict can make up for the countless verdicts that came before, when Black men and women were killed by the police, and their killers did not face justice."

Councilmember Kshama Sawant said all the credit for the verdict goes to the activists involved in Black Lives Matter.

"We have to build on this historic victory to win far-reaching reforms. We need to fight for democratically-elected community oversight boards across the country with the full power to hold the police accountable, to set department policy, and to hire and fire officers," Sawant said in a statement. "We need to fight to cut bloated police budgets to fully fund social services, restorative justice, and affordable housing. And we need to begin to take society in a direction different than that offered by capitalism, for a society free of oppression and police violence."

The verdict, Council President M. Lorena Gonzalez said, was "welcome news." But, similarly, she said there was a lot more work to do.

"We know that it will not bring George Floyd back to his family," she said during a news conference. "We know that far too often, police killings of Black, brown and indigenous members of our communities have resulted in no justice or systemic change at all."

She called for elected officials to stay committed to bringing about change, saying justice is "not achieved or lost in a single trial."

"We live in two different Americas where our access to community safety is unfortunately often determined by our skin color," she said. "The status quo of America's criminal legal system too often fails to deliver meaningful justice to Black, indigenous and people of color communities...True justice will only be won when BIPOC individuals are safe from police brutality and the oppressive systems of institutionalized racism that prevent fair and equal access to safety, opportunity and prosperity."

Council members, Durkan and other officials also encouraged people to take to the streets and protest peacefully in the coming days and weeks. Durkan also warned the region was still in a pandemic, and urged people to wear masks and keep their distance. 

King County Council Chair Claudia Balducci continued the calls for more action to achieve racial equity in the state.

"We have so much more to do to realize true justice and equity in our nation. Here in King County, we will continue our work toward transforming policing and providing true public safety," Balducci wrote.

The City of Seattle – in coordination with faith leaders – will be hosting a citywide prayer and moment of silence at 7 p.m. The city said that while events were still not allowed due to the pandemic, it highlighted the many public parks people could gather in. 

"I hope everyone takes a moment not just to pause and think about George Floyd and his family," Durkan said at the end of the news conference, "but to reflect on how we as a city can do better and continue in our quest for justice."