MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A possible jury who lived in the neighborhood where George Floyd was arrested told the lawyer of an ex-officer accused of Floyd’s death that he had a personal reason for wanting to be part of the jury.
“Because I, as a black man, see that a lot of black people are murdered and no one holds them responsible, and you wonder why or what the decisions were,” jury no. 76 in question during the selection of the jury to Derek Chauvin murder trial. “So with that, maybe I’ll be in the room to find out why.”
But the man will not be in the room. Although he said he felt he could weigh the evidence fairly, the defense surprised him. It was an illustration of how difficult it can be for people who say they have personal experience with police misconduct to reach the jurors holding them accountable.
“We have a black man who was probably in the best position to judge the exclusion of the case,” said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and head of a community activism organization called the Wayfinder Foundation.
The man said he experiences daily racism and strongly agreed that police are more likely to respond strongly to blacks than whites. Levy Armstrong described the jury’s exclusion as a “huge slap” that “only underscores why people believe there is systemic racism at work within these lawsuits.”
The jury selection in Chauvin’s case is almost complete, with 12 of 14 mandatory juries selected by Thursday. So far, the racial composition of the jury has been evenly distributed; six of the jurors are white, four are black and two are multiracial, according to the court.
Floyd he was pronounced dead last May after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against the black man’s neck for about nine minutes while lying face down on the ground and handcuffed. Floyd asked for air several times and finally stood still.
But local activists like Levy Armstrong say police brutality was rampant long before Floyd’s death.
Jury 76, which only refers to courts by number to protect anonymity, said Minneapolis police “would travel the neighborhood with ‘Another One Bites the Dust'” after a local person was killed or arrested.
Levy Armstrong said this context would be essential for the group of 12 people to decide Chauvin’s fate. Local activists have noted that several selected jurors maintain relationships with police officers and wonder: why can’t a black man who has had negative experiences with the police be part of a jury?
Nelson used one of his peremptory attacks dismiss the man, after attempting and failing to have him beaten “for cause,” citing his negative opinion of Minneapolis police and his statements that Floyd was “murdered.”
Prosecutors argued against the strike because of it, saying the man was simply reflecting on the reality of his experience, noting that he had said he could put aside his personal feelings.
Nelson’s peremptory strike, which was not contested, required no explanation. Lawyers cannot attack a jury based on race.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said he did not believe any challenge had worked in this case, citing the man’s negative statements about the Minneapolis police department.
But he noted that the man’s statements also showed that he could be fair.
“My inference from what he said is,‘ I can put it aside and, if he’s not guilty, I can come to this verdict because I feel comfortable explaining to people why it happened, ”said Cahill, who add that “he would do well” to the right and impartial measure. “
Alan Turkheimer, a Chicago-based jury consultant, said he was not surprised the defense tried to keep someone who experienced police brutality off the jury.
“Sometimes people can’t be fair, even if they don’t know it,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. It’s so hard to shake something like that. “
He added that questioning – and ultimately drawing attention to – possible jurors based on their experiences provides an “integrated advantage for police officers”.
During this week’s racial justice rallies, many have turned their attention to systemic racism within the justice system and how to select jurors, said Jaylani Hussein, local activist and executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations.
“It’s a horrible racist thought process: we have to stop people who might get angry, you know the angry black man or the angry black woman, from going on the jury because they won’t take it seriously,” he said.
For the jury, the idea of being part of Chauvin’s verdict was something he addressed as a matter of weight. He said he had avoided seeing in-depth news about Floyd’s death, even moving away from the issue with his wife.
“I didn’t form an opinion about Mr. Chauvin because I didn’t know him,” the jury said. “It’s sad. It’s another black man murdered at the hands of the police. That’s all I could say.”
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Groves was reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
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Find full AP coverage of George Floyd’s death at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd