BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston Mayor Kim Janey and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said they were “grateful” former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, but that officials and the public need to continue working for racial justice.
“While many of us breathe a sigh of relief, George Floyd and countless others are still dead and the conditions that led to so many senseless killings still exist,” Janey said Tuesday.
A jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter when he knelt on George Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes in 2020. The murder led to massive, months-long protests against police killings, and Jane said that fight was not over.
“Doing the work to dismantle structural racism will take all of us,” Janey said, calling to “re-imagine the criminal justice system and how we police.”
She and other local leaders praised the moment as a time for unity and change.
“While I am truly grateful for a guilty verdict, I know that our work in our city and every other city across America to advance racial justice continues,” she said.
Rollins said the trial stood out not only for its result but also the fact that other police officers testified against Chauvin.
“The road to equity is long and uneven but there was justice today,” Rollins said Tuesday. “We are going to transform and reimagine how we create public safety … we will celebrate this victory but we have a lot of work to do.”
Retired Brookline police officer and law enforcement training expert David O’Laughlin said he feels police officers in the Commonwealth are listening to the community.
“There will be some changes, of course. And like everyone else we recognize that there are some things we need to improve upon,” he said. “We embrace that ideology and we’re going to go forward with it as best we can.”
Mayor Janey said she hopes Bostonians continue to raise their voice to demand that change.
“I encourage the residents of Boston to engage in this work with us,” she said. “Doing the work to dismantle structural racism will take all of us.”
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