Jury finds Derek Chauvin guilty of killing George Floyd

Chauvin, 45, was convicted of murder and manslaughter after pinning Floyd, 46, to the ground with his knee in the American city of Minneapolis last May.

Chauvin was found guilty on all charges – second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter – last night.

He faces up to 40 year in jail for the most serious charge of second-degree murder.

A date for his sentencing has not yet been announced.

The incident was caught on camera and the harrowing video triggered a racial justice movement across the US that quickly spread to the rest of the world.

Mr Floyd died last May after Chauvin, a white officer, pinned his knee on the 46-year-old black man’s neck for about nine-and-a-half minutes in a case that triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious re-examination of racism and policing in the US.

The jury, made up of six white people and six black or multi-racial people, deliberated over parts of two days in a city on edge against another outbreak of unrest.

Derek Chauvin

Following the verdict, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “appalled by the death of George Floyd and welcome this verdict”, adding in a tweet that his thoughts were with Mr Floyd’s family and friends.

Mr Floyd’s murder prompted Black Lives Matter protests which spread across the globe last summer.

British police have been heavily criticised over the years over its disproportionate use of powers, such as stop and search and use of force, on black and ethnic minority people.