Derek Chauvin news: Floyd killer in solitary as police defend Nicholas Reardon shooting Ma’Khia Bryant

Derek Chauvin has been placed in solitary confinement until sentencing for the murder of George Floyd.

Prison spokeswoman Sara Fitzgerald, who previously confirmed to CNN Chauvin was segregated form the general population for his own safety, told The New York Times he was in solitary for 23 hours a day.

The outlet reported that the court has set 16 June as the sentencing date – exactly eight weeks from today.

The most macabre statement came from Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, who in a speech said, “Thank you, George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice, writes Nylah Burton for Independent Voices.

“George Floyd did not sacrifice his life so that one police officer could go to jail. He didn’t sacrifice his life so a bunch of white people would be interested in reading books about racial justice by white authors. He didn’t sacrifice his life so politicians could make empty promises and ridiculous photo-shoots with kente cloth.”

Police have defended the fatal shooting of teenager Ma’Khia Bryant as they named the officer involved as Nicholas Reardon.

Columbus Police Department’s interim police chief Michael Woods announced that it was Officer Reardon who fired the shots that killed the 16-year-old.

The Black youngster was gunned down by the officer, just as the verdict in the George Floyd trial came in, after police were called with the report of a stabbing at a home in the Ohio city.

Officials say that Officer Reardon has been a Columbus police officer since December 2019, and he has been placed on leave while the incident is investigated.

Chief Lee was asked by reporters on Wednesday why Ma’Khia had not been shot in a less lethal area, like the leg, and he defended the officer’s actions.

Graeme Massie reports.

On 20 April, a jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty for the murder of George Floyd, a Black man. People around the world celebrated the outcome of this landmark trial with singing, applause and dancing in the streets, writes Nadine White.

“Following widespread anticipation, George’s family, campaigners and well-wishers welcomed this seminal decision. However, the collective struggle to breathe continues as Black people continue to die at the hands of the police and the US reckons with systemic racism that gives rise to tragedy.”

An Arizona sheriff’s deputy used a racial slur and told another officer to not put his “f***ing career at risk,” after he was pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Body camera footage obtained by KPNX shows Pinal County Sheriff’s Deputy Julian Navarrette imploring officers to let him off. He was pulled over around 2am on 5 December 2020 after an Arizona State University police officer saw him speeding and swerving in Tempe, just east of Phoenix.

The ASU police report said he was out with friends when he was arrested. The body camera footage shows an ASU officer out of view confronting Mr Navarrette about drinking and driving.

“Yeah, but I’m also a police officer,” Mr Navarrette said in response.

Gustaf Kilander has the full story.

A man from North Carolina was shot and killed by police who had been called to search his property.

Police arrived at the scene early on Wednesday. Relatives identified the man as 40-year-old Andrew Brown.

Mr Brown, a black man and a father of 10, was shot by police around 8.30am as he drove away from officers in Elizabeth City, witnesses say. The city is in the northeastern part of the state on the Atlantic coast.

The Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement: “During the execution of the search warrant, a citizen who was subject to the search warrant was shot and fatally wounded.”

Neighbours say they heard anywhere between six and eight shots being fired. Mr Brown’s family stated that he didn’t carry a gun and that he didn’t hurt anyone, local outlet WAVY reported.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, has been found guilty on all three charges he was faced with.

His most serious conviction is second-degree murder, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 40 years in Minnesota. The other charges were third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, which carry maximum penalties of 25 years and 10 years in prison, respectively.

The jury came to the unanimous decision after hearing a wide range of testimony from witnesses presented by both the defence and prosecution during the three-week trial, but only needed about 10 hours of deliberation to reach a verdict.

Derek Chauvin’s conviction on Tuesday for murdering George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, brought both relief to his family and calls to continue the fight for racial justice in policing and beyond.

“I mean, I’m feeling tears of joy, so emotional that no family in history ever got this far,” Mr Floyd’s brother Rodney said on Tuesday. “I know we’re not done yet,” he added.

As community members and activists told The Independent, this movement began long before George Floyd was murdered, and will continue until the whole system is one built on racial equity. They’ve got their work cut out for them.

Josh Marcus reports how unequal policing really is in Minneapolis, by the numbers:

Derek Chauvin’s lawyers will most likely appeal his conviction, experts say, but they have little chance of success.

The former police officer was declared guilty on Tuesday of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. He will be sentenced in eight weeks, and could face up to 40 years in prison.

Chauvin’s lawyers now have 60 days to notify the court if they want to appeal. Their odds of success aren’t good – only about 10 per cent of appeals achieve a reversal, according to Cornell University Law School – but there are a few arguments Chauvin’s team could make. Mainly, they could argue the jury’s decision was tainted by three things: comments by public officials, news of Daunte Wright’s shooting by a police officer, and the judge’s refusal to relocate the trial.

Nathan Place reports.

Police have released bodycam footage of the fatal shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant, but social media users want her to be remembered for her other videos – the ones she posted on TikTok.

The 16-year-old, who was shot dead by police in Columbus, Ohio, was an avid user of the Chinese social media app popular with teens, where she posted a number of hair tutorials. In the 24 hours after her death, those videos were viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

“This is how we want to remember #MakhiaBryant. Joyful. Beautiful. Adorable,” the Instagram account Until Freedom wrote above a video of Ma’Khia doing her hair and posing for the camera. The clip has been viewed more than 126,000 times.

Another video, posted on Twitter, shows Ma’Khia dancing and smiling with colorful butterfly clips in her hair.

Nathan Place reports.