One year later: Looking back at the Derek Chauvin verdict

One year ago on Wednesday, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd

The 12-member Hennepin County jury convicted Chauvin of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 25, 2020, death of Floyd. And after the historic verdict was read, community members celebrated in the streets. 

Chauvin was sentenced in June 2021 to 22.5 years in prison, and he is appealing the conviction. He was also charged in federal court, and the former officer in December 2021 pleaded guilty to federal charges that he violated Floyd's civil rights

Meanwhile, the three other former MPD officers charged in connection to Floyd's death — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — were convicted on federal charges of depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights in February, but they haven't yet been sentenced. They're set to go to trial in June on state charges of aiding-and-abetting murder. 

Floyd's death sparked racial reckoning and heightened calls for police reform but not much has been enacted. Proposals to overhaul the Minneapolis Police Department were voted down, and while some reform measures have been enacted at the city, state and federal levels, advocates say more needs to be done in terms of lasting police reform. That being said, the U.S. Department of Justice did launch an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department's practices