Joe Biden celebrates ‘some justice’ for George Floyd as AOC calls conviction not enough
President says it was ‘really important’ that former police officer found guilty on all counts
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Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden celebrated “some justice” for George Floyd as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the conviction of Derek Chauvin not enough.
The president and vice president Kamala Harris spoke with Mr Floyd’s family moments after Chauvin was handcuffed and taken out of the courtroom to be returned to prison.
“Nothing is going to make it all better but at least God now there is some justice,” said Mr Biden.
“We’ve been watching every second of this, and the vice president, all of us, and we’re all so relieved not just for one verdict but all three, guilty on all three counts, and it’s just really important.”
And he added: “We’re going to get a lot more done. We’re going to do a lot. We’re going to stay at it until we get it done.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez took to Instagram Live to demand full justice for Mr Floyd.
“So no, this is not justice,” said the New York congresswoman.
“Frankly, I don’t think we can even call it full accountability as there are multiple officers that were there, it wasn’t just Derek Chauvin.
“I also don’t want this moment to be framed as this system working, working, because it is not working and that is what creates a lot of complexity in this moment.”
The family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, tweeted video of the call and called on the White House to push forward with police reform.
“President Biden and VP Harris call the Floyd family after the GUILTY verdict! Thank you @POTUS & @VP for your support! We hope that we can count on you for the police reform we NEED in America!”
“This is a day of justice,” Ms Harris told the family after joining Mr Biden to watch the verdict in the private dining room off the Oval Office.
The president is expected to address the nation about the verdict later on Tuesday.
Chauvin, 45, showed no emotion as he was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
The former police officer nodded towards the judge as his bail was revoked and he was handcuffed by law enforcement officers and walked out of the court room to be returned to prison.
Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder.
Mr Biden’s phone call to the family came hours after he took the unusual steps of discussing the trial, after the jury had been sequestered to reach their verdict.
“They’re a good family and they’re calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is,” Mr Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning.
“I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict. I think it’s overwhelming, in my view. I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered now.”
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