The Place for Jersey City News
Log In / Register
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Jersey City Times
  • News
  • Food and Fun
    • Food And Drink
    • Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    • Other Fun Stuff
  • Education
  • Business
  • Neighborhoods
    • Downtown
      • News
      • Guide
    • Heights
      • News
      • Guide
    • Journal Square
      • News
      • Guide
    • Bergen Lafayette
      • News
      • Guide
    • Greenville
      • News
      • Guide
    • Westside
      • News
      • Guide
  • Opinion
  • Columns
    • Eye Level
    • Mamarama
  • Obituaries
  • Event Calendar
  • Support our Mission
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
State and Local Officials Weigh in on Chauvin Verdict

State and Local Officials Weigh in on Chauvin Verdict

Jersey City Times Staff
April 20, 2021/in header, Latest News, News
by Jersey City Times Staff

Following a jury’s verdict today convicting Derek Chauvin of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, state and local officials weighed in on its meaning. 

Statement from Senator Cory Booker

This verdict is justice served—but it is not justice for George Floyd. True justice would be a country where George Floyd would still be alive today. True justice demands action—it demands change & that we do everything we can to stop this from happening again & again & again.

Statement from Governor Phil Murphy 

George Floyd, like countless other Black Americans whose futures have been unjustly stolen from them, should be alive today. While today’s verdict provides some measure of justice and accountability for the Floyd family and millions of our fellow Americans, all of us must remember that systemic racism is still pervasive in American life. While we are glad that justice has prevailed in this case, George Floyd’s murder is a painful reminder that inequality has deep roots in American history, starting during slavery and continuing to the present day in areas such as wages, health care, housing, education, and treatment by law enforcement. This has been a trying moment in our nation’s history, but we must be resolute in our fight for justice to ensure that the pain of yesterday, and the pain of today, does not become the pain of tomorrow.

Statement from Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal 

This was the right verdict. But as a career prosecutor, I know how even a successful trial verdict can leave the families of victims with a sense of emptiness. A conviction cannot undo the trauma; it can never bring back a lost loved one. We simply hope it can bring some closure to those most in pain. 

A flawed system laid the groundwork for the death of George Floyd. It’s a system that too often fails to recruit police from the communities they guard, fails to train officers properly, fails to place just limits on the use of force against citizens, and fails to create mechanisms for the independent investigation of misconduct. It’s a system that badly needs reform—here and across the country. 

While I am heartened to see some justice done for Mr. Floyd, it is not enough. We must seize this moment, when the nation’s focus has turned to how our communities are policed, to ensure something meaningful comes from a man’s unnecessary death, and to continue with urgency the reforms we have begun to policing practices in New Jersey. 

To learn more about what we are doing in the Garden State, visit www.njoag.gov/policing. There’s much more work to be done.

Statement from the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey 

Today, the jury delivered justice not only for the family and loved ones of George Floyd, but for the millions of Americans of color who for decades have experienced a different reality of uneven treatment by law enforcement. What we witnessed in Minneapolis last May was not policing, but was murder and an absolute abdication of the values of protecting and serving. With this verdict, our country can begin the long and complex process of healing, which we know will also involve continued dialogue between communities and law enforcement, as well as ongoing police reform, increased transparency, and accountability. We thank the Jury for their service. 

Statement from Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop

Today justice was served by the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial returning a verdict of guilty on all three counts. The sadness and loss that George Floyd’s family and friends feel will unfortunately never totally go away. That sadness is shared throughout our country and here in Jersey City.

This verdict also serves as proof that there is still justice and accountability in our country, and I am hopeful that it can be a starting point for bringing more meaningful reforms nationally and locally so that we will no longer be hearing name after name of black lives that were taken too soon by law enforcement that swore to protect them.

Statement from Jersey City Councilman At-Large Rolando Lavarro 

Today, justice has been served. George Floyd’s life and humanity is affirmed. While this is a major verdict, and countless people are breathing a sigh of relief, this verdict will not bring George Floyd back. Nor will it bring back so many black and brown lives who have suffered senseless deaths. One verdict does not correct institutional racism and generations of injustice.

Rather, we will need to work together to root out systemic bias in the criminal justice system. We need to reimagine policing. We need to pass legislation to create a strong Civilian Complaint Review Board in Jersey City.

But the truth is that the only way we will see real systemic change is if we each make the change in our own hearts. Because at the end of the day, collectively we all make up this unjust system, and there is something each of us can do and own up to, getting off the sidelines and fighting for a more just system.

Statement from Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon

George Floyd should still be alive today. The jury’s verdict convicting his murderer does not change that. It does, however, deliver justice and a small piece of mind to his family. It affirms the fact that his life mattered.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
Jersey City, US
9:11 pm, July 4, 2022
77°F
clear sky
Wind: 7 mph
Pressure: 1019 mb

Latest Articles

Forget the Whale
July 02, 2022 /

Rogue Waves July: Six Concert Picks in Jersey City

Raisa Nosova "Uprooted"
July 01, 2022 /

Muralist Raisa Nosova Raises a Distress call for Ukraine

Dickinson High School Jersey City 16x9
July 01, 2022 /

Former Dickinson High School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault

NJCU
July 01, 2022 /

NJCU Acting President Kroll Issues a Statement on Social Media

United States Supreme Court
July 01, 2022 /

We Must Amend the New Jersey Constitution to Include a Right to Privacy

CONTACT US

    ADS/INFO

    For information on advertising opportunities, please contact - ads@jcitytimes.com

    For information on writing opportunities, please contact - info@jcitytimes.com

    Download our media kit here

    ABOUT US

    About Jersey City Times

    Contact Jersey City Times

    Social

    Archives

    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    Copyright © 2020 JCityTimes.com. All Rights Reserved - powered by Enfold WordPress Theme
    To Protest and Thanks, Walker Explains Delay in Public School Reopening Editorial: Pointing Fingers as Students and Parents Suffer
    Scroll to top