CHENNAI, April 21, 2021

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd when he knelt on the man’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds–a videotaped death that ignited a summer of rage and the greatest racial reckoning in the US since the 1960s.

A jury on Tuesday convicted Chauvin of second-degree murder and lesser charges for cutting off Floyd’s air supply last May 25 as he lay handcuffed and begging for mercy. The conviction, which stood out against decades of impunity for most police excessive-force cases, could mean decades in prison for the 45-year-old former cop. Chauvin will face sentencing in eight weeks.

The verdict, reached after less than 11 hours of deliberation, came 11 months after graphic footage of Chauvin and Floyd went viral, shocking millions and prompting protests that spread across the globe. As the verdict was read, a crowd near the crime scene in Minneapolis reacted with cheers and hugs, Bloomberg reported.

In an address from the White House on Tuesday night, US President Joe Biden voiced optimism that the verdict could mark a “moment of significant change” for a nation he said hadn’t done enough to confront racial injustice.

“No one should be above the law and today’s verdict sends that message, but it’s not enough,” he said. “This takes acknowledging and confronting head-on systemic racism and the racial disparities that exist in policing.” Earlier, he told Floyd’s family in a phone call their lawyer recorded and posted on Twitter that “Nothing is going to make it all better. But at least, God, now there’s some justice.”

Floyd’s death galvanised the Black Lives Matter movement, already active after years of previous killings by police and vigilantes, while attracting support from White people who marched for weeks last summer. Floyd’s death sparked an urgent debate about the broader issue of inequality and institutionalised racism in all its forms, including in corporate America.