Washington | The US president has spoken to the family of George Floyd, the White House said Tuesday as the jury deliberates on the responsibility of the police officer accused of the murder of the African-American forty-something.
• Read also: Make way for the jury’s deliberations at the trial of Derek Chauvin
“President Biden spoke yesterday (Monday) with the family of George Floyd to hear from him and assure him that he was praying for them,” Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the US executive, said in a tweet.
The jury retired on Monday to deliberate on the responsibility of Derek Chauvin, a 45-year-old white police officer on trial for murder, manslaughter and intentional violence resulting in the death of George Floyd, whom he had arrested with three other officers for an offense minor.
For over nine minutes, he had kept his knee on the neck of the 40-year-old, who was lying on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back.
His agony, filmed live by passers-by, shocked the world and sparked demonstrations of historic proportions against racism and police violence.
The trial is taking place amid high tensions and daily protests following the recent death of a young black man on the outskirts of Minneapolis.