Police union welcomes verdict, says 'justice has worked' after Derek Chauvin found guilty of murder
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- The Fraternal Order of Police welcomed Tuesday's guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
- "The trial was fair and due process was served," FOP President Patrick Yoes said.
- Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder.
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That former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin is now a was convicted of murder, among other charges, serves as proof that the "system of justice has worked as it should," according to the head of the country's largest police union
In a statement following Tuesday's verdict, in which Chauvin was convicted of killing George Floyd last summer, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Patrick Yoes, accepted the jury's findings.
"The trial was fair and due process was served," Yoes said.
The statement is consistent with what the organization said soon after the video of Floyd's killing went viral last May. At the time, the group issued a statement distancing itself and the profession of law enforcement from Chauvin's actions.
"Based on the bystander's video from this incident, we witnessed a man in distress pleading for help," it said. "The fact that he was a suspect in custody is immaterial - police officers should at all times render aid to those who need it."
Local police in California also welcomed Tuesday's news.
"Today's guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin, unanimously reached by twelve jurors, was just," police unions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose said in a joint statement. "Although the verdict will not bring George Floyd back, this tragedy provides all of us in law enforcement an opportunity to improve how our nation is policed."
Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, ignoring his protests that he "could not breath." The former cop, who was fired after the incident, now faces up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder.
According to the ACLU, it is the first time a white police officer in Minnesota has ever been convicted of killing a Black man.
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