juror, why did you convict the killer. you know who he was. brag about taking his life. he said i could not imagine going to jail for killing a -- it's time for a fundamental change. i want to thank, johnny cochran, ben crump, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> he believed it couldn't happen. never happened before.

including governor, attorney general keith ellison. keith took the case and charged the first day. he put together the legal team, jurors, whole process led by keith ellison. keith ellison. minnesota state with great proud traditions, brother ben. it's about wrong and right. massive protests.

1964, those who fought down through the years. when i think about the congresswoman, people in this state speak back, fight back. i want to express thanks to all of you. people on the team of keith, black and white, and we must learn to live together as brothers, live together. we will live together. i want to express my thank you all those that come together today because we're going to keep marching.

brother wright, we can't celebrate because the killings keep coming. this case should break the backbone of legal lynching. they have lynched us with the law. thank you very much. >> lastly, before we get to the questions, and let me acknowledge, again, tamika, reverend jamal bryant, and all of the young people that kept it going. ain't no sun between these generations. anybody thinks so, get up and work out with me in the morning. national president of the national urban league, brother mark moreal. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. first of all, i want to be brief, but let me cosign, amen,

and reaffirm all that has been said today. this conviction. >> that's mark moreal of the urban league of the national urban league speaking right now. you're seeing a very rare sight, the family of george floyd, supporters and civil rights leaders, including reverend al sharpton, reverend jesse jackson and others on a day in which something that does not normally happen happened. the conviction of derek chauvin. former police officer in minneapolis for killing george floyd. it is an exceptionally rare event. i want to let you all know that the president of the united states joe biden and the vice president of the united states, kamala harris is set to speak imminently, which is why i'm breaking in so we can transition to that as soon as they begin. while we wait for the president and vice president to speak, i want to introduce our team that's going to start this off on the coverage here tonight. katie fang, our msnbc legal

contributor. paul butler, an msnbc legal contributor, and glenn kirschner and i want each of you to talk about this case, the prosecutors, paul, jerry blackwell, matthew frank, aaron eldridge, won a very rare victory here on behalf of the floyd family, your thoughts on this prosecution and the outcome? >> 45 witnesses, three weeks of testimony, a victory decades, centuries in the make. it was the state versus derek chauvin, the police and legal system were not on trial but because black people have been denied due process and equal protection of law for so long, trials can actually serve as a rough measure of progress. joy, i think given the evidence presented by the prosecution, if there had not been a conviction, there would be legitimate

questions about when a police officer could ever be brought to justice for killing a black man. but fewer than ten officers have been convicted of murder in the last 15 years. if this is the beginning of holding police officers accountable, it's long past time. but it's still a really good day for equal justice under the law. >> i think that's a really good point because the other thing that seemed to be on trial was the kind of defense mounted for derek chauvin, vilifying the dead black man and saying essentially that he had super human strength, born of drug use, et cetera. that didn't work this time. >> and this is what i was hoping it was going to be, a send a message verdict. they took their job, duty, oath, to apply the facts and evidence in this case to the law that was specific to these charges. it totally said and sent a message, right, to the defense that old concept, that tired

racist trope of the big black man who does the drugs, and cannot ever achieve justice, that was kicked out the door today, and the other message that was sent was, you know what, there's going to be a day of reckoning for cops that don't abide by policies and procedures that have been set forth within their departments. derek chauvin was tried, convicted and will be sentenced in eight weeks and then that's the other part we're going to have to see, joy. what is he going to get for his sentence, and then in august, what are those three other officers that pending trial. they're being tried together, what are they going to do: >> and that is a good question, you know, glenn, it was remarkable to see ten police officers take the stand against a fellow police officer. i've never seen anything like that before. what do you think the message that's been sent, do you think that message ends up reverberating in a way that changes law enforcement or is this just sort of a momentary, you know, moment of justice for

this family. do you think that it has reverberations after today? >> i do joy. i hope it resonates. what we had were good cops that stood up and broke the back of a bad cop. that's one of the things it's going to take. as a 30 year prosecutor, i worked with so many good cops, now that the good cops have license to step up. >> indeed, i'm going to stop you here because the vice president of the united states. >> good evening, i want to thank the jury for their service and i want to thank mr. floyd's family for your steadfastness. today, we feel a sigh of relief. still, it cannot take away the pain. a measure of justice is not the same as equal justice. this verdict brings us a step closer and the fact is we still have work to do.

we still must reform the system. last summer, together with senator cory booker, and representative karen bass, i introduced the george floyd justice in policing act. this bill would hold law enforcement accountable and help build trust between law enforcement and our communities. this bill is part of george floyd's legacy. the president and i will continue to urge the senate to pass this legislation, not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start. this work is long overdue. america has a long history of systemic racism. black americans and black men in particular have been treated throughout the course of our history as less than human. black men are fathers and

brothers and sons and uncles and grandfathers, and friends and neighbors. their lives must be valued in our education system, in our health care system, in our housing system, in our economic system in our criminal justice system in our nation. full stop. because of smartphones, so many americans have now seen the racial injustice that black americans have known for generations, the racial injustice that we have fought for generations, that my parents protested in the 1960s. that millions of us, americans of every race, protested last summer. here's the truth about racial

injustice. it is not just a black america problem or a people of color problem. it is a problem for every american. it is keeping us from fulfilling the process of liberty and justice for all. and it is holding our nation back from realizing our full potential. we are all a part of george floyd's legacy. and our job now is to honor it and honor him. and now it is my great honor to introduce the president of the united states, joe biden.

>> today a jury in minnesota found former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin guilty on all counts in the murder of george floyd last may. it was a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism the vice president just referred to. the systemic racism is a stain on our nation's soul. a knee on the neck of justice for black americans, profound fear and trauma, the pain, the exhaustion that black and brown americans experience every single day. the murder of george floyd launched a summer of protest. we hadn't seen since the civil rights era in the 60s.

protests that unified people of every race and generation in peace and with purpose. to say enough. enough. enough of this senseless killings. today's verdict is a step forward. i just spoke to the governor of minnesota who thanked me for the close work with his team. and i also spoke with george floyd's family again. remarkable family of extraordinary courage. nothing can ever bring their brother, their father back. but this can be a giant step forward march toward justice in america. let's also be clear, such a verdict is also much too rare. for so many people, it seems like it took a unique and

extraordinary convergence of factors, a brave young woman with a smartphone camera, a crowd that was traumatized, traumatized witnesses. a murder that lasts almost ten minutes in broad daylight for ultimately the whole world to see. officers standing up and testifying against a fellow officer instead of you closing ranks, which should be commended. a jury who heard the evidence, carried out their civic duty in the midst of an extraordinary moment under extraordinary pressure. for so many it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver a just, just basic accountability. we saw how traumatic and

exhausting just watching the trial was for so many people. think about it, think about how traumatic it was for you. you weren't there. you didn't know any of the people. but it was difficult, especially for the witnesses who had to relive that day. it's a trauma. on top of the fears so many people of color live with every day when they go to sleep at night and pray for the safety of themselves and their loved ones. again, as we saw in this trial from the fellow police officers who testified, most men and women who wear the badge serve their communities honorably. but those few who failed to meet that standard must be held accountable and they were today. one was. no one should be above the law. and today's verdict sends that

message. but it's not enough. we can't stop here. in order to live a real change in reform, we can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedy like this will ever happen to occur again. to assure that black and brown people or anyone so they don't fear the interactions with law enforcement that they don't have to wake up knowing that they can lose their very life in the course of just living their life. they don't have to worry about whether their sons or daughters will come home after a grocery store run. or just walking down the street or driving their car. playing in the park or just sleeping at home. and this takes acknowledging and confronting head on systemic racism, and the racial disparities that exist in policing and in our criminal justice system more broadly.

you know, state and local government and law enforcement needs to step up. but so does the federal government. that's why i have appointed leadership of the justice department that i had, that is fully committed to restoring trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to serve and protect. i have complete confidence in the attorney general, general garland's leadership and commitment. i've also nominated two key justice department nominees, lenita guta and kristen clark, highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice. lenita and kristen have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system, and they deserve

to be confirmed. we also need congress to act. george floyd was murdered almost a year ago. there's meaningful police reform legislation in his name. you just heard the vice president speak of it. she helped write it. legislation to tackle systemic misconduct in police departments, to restore trust between law enforcement and the people that are entrusted to serve and protect. but it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done. my conversations with the floyd family, i spoke with them again today. i assured them, we're going to continue to fight for the passage of the george floyd justice in policing act, so i can sign it into law as quickly as possible. there's more to do. finally it's the work we do every day to change hearts and minds as well as laws and

policies. that's the work we have to do. only then will full justice and full equality be delivered to all americans. that's what i just discussed with the floyd family. the guilty verdict does not bring back george. but through the family's pain, they're finding purpose so george's legacy will not be just about his death but about what we must do in his memory. i also spoke to gianna's george's young daughter, when i met her last year at george's funeral, i told her how brave i thought she was, and i sort of knelt down to hold her hand. i said daddy's looking down on you, he's so proud. she said so me then, i'll never forget it. daddy changed the world. i told her this afternoon, daddy did change the world.

let that be his legacy. a legacy of peace, not violence. and justice, peaceful expression of that legacy are inevitable and appropriate. violent protest is not. and there are those who will seek to exploit the raw emotions of the moment, agitators and extremists who have no interest in social justice, who seek to carry out violence, destroy property, fan the flames of hate and division, who will do everything in their power to stop this country's march toward racial justice. we can't let them succeed. this is a time for this country to come together to unite as americans. there can never been any safe harbor for hate in america. said it many times, the battle for the soul of this nation has

been a constant push and pull. the tug of war between the american ideal that we're all created equal and the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart. at our best the american ideal wins out. so we can't leave this moment or look away thinking our work is done. we have to look at it -- we have to look as we did for those nine minutes and 29 seconds. we have to listen. i can't breathe. i can't breathe. those are george floyd's last words. we can't let those words die with him. we have to keep hearing those words. we must not turn away. we can't turn away. we have a chance to begin to change the trajectory in this

country. it's my hope and prayer that we live up to the legacy. may god bless you, and may god bless george floyd and his family. thank you for taking the time to be here. this can be a moment of significant change. thank you. >> president joe biden talking about a murder in the full light of day that ripped the blinders off of systemic racism. he talked about the fact that it took an extraordinary convergence of circumstances in order to get the conviction of derek chauvin, a teenage girl with her cell phone, a crowd that demanded justice, and a murder that took nearly ten minutes and he talked about the fact that you also saw officers testifying against one of their own and how extraordinary that was. president biden talking about the fact that he had spoken with

the family of george floyd, something he has done multiple times since he's been elected. before he spoke, vice president kamala harris, reminding americans of something that should be obvious, and something that we hear in the black lives matter hash tag. that black men are fathers and sons and neighbors and loved ones but too often treated as less than human when it comes to law enforcement, and she made that point that because of cell phones, we now have been able to see the injustice, that americans of all races have been able to witness it, and she closed her statements saying we're all a part of george floyd's legacy. joining me now is congresswoman maxine waters of california. on that very last point that vice president harris made, you know, a lot of us, myself included really came to know you in the era of rodney king in which case there was also video, that we were also able to see the injustice in the rodney king case that he was very lucky to survive but still was unable to get justice at the state level

and had to go to the federal government to get it. what does it mean in your mind, as somebody who experienced that in your own community for us to be here now and to see a conviction on all charges against this former police officer? >> joy, i want to tell you, you know, my struggle against police abuse started many years ago. there was a woman named yula love who could not pay her gas bill. they called the police out, and there was a confrontation and they ended up shooting her down on her porch in front of her two girls, and i tangled with daryl gates who was the police chief, who not only really did support and use the choke hold, but he had something called a battering ram that he tore down the doors, and i can remember when i was in the head start program and we talked about, you know, the fire people and the police and all of the helpers and the service that's in your district, the head start kids said the police are people who come to your house and knock down your door

and pull your brother out and take him away. and so i have lived with this police abuse, with black men in particular being targeted by the police, being made to lay on the ground in their best clothes, spread eagle across a car, and i have fought this for many many years. i have been engaged for many years, and you mentioned rodney king, yes, that was another special time when we saw him beaten, i mean, literally beaten and then we were told we could not believe our own eyes, and we did not get justice, and so today is very special. something very special has happened, but when i talk about why it is so important for us to have diversity and inclusion, it is because of keith ellison, who is the district attorney to the degree that we get more people in these positions of power, particularly in the criminal system, we're going to be able to get more justice. and so, of course, i'm

criticized all the time, and of course the republicans make a target of me, but as you know, i am passionate on these issues having lived with them so long. having seen so much injustice. and so i'm delighted that we have the verdict that we got today. i could not believe it. but it is absolutely true. and i'm looking forward to elected officials using their influence and their power and for our city council people who have the budgets of these police who have been intimidated by these police unions seeing that it is possible to do right, do what is right. and to honor, you know, the community by not just rolling over because they're intimidated by the police union and afraid they won't get elected. you've got that budget, you give them their raises, you're responsible for their benefits, give them that overtime. i'm pleased that i feel strong

enough and able enough to go out with the young people to say aunty maxine is here, and i support you, and i want you to be activists. i'm sorry it causes pain often types with my colleagues. many times they're in these districts where they're frightened where they have it a lot of racism. they haven't moved to the point that they can have a decent conversation about these issues, and sometimes it's very difficult for them, but they stood up with me today. they put me out for censure because of my visit to minneapolis, and my colleagues stood with me, and voted to table the motion that was put up to censure me because the republicans love it use me as a target. they raise money on my back, max maxine waters who is so uppity, someone we can't control. you have to make sure i have enough money to keep her from getting reelected and i keep getting reelected and the poor

people, many retirees, keep giving them their money. they don't seem to understand they're not going to get me out of office. i'm here until i decide to retire. >> you mentioned the republican fight. i think that the women who founded the black lives matter hash tag are familiar with being black women not under control and therefore are targeted on a routine basis. the big fight that i think your republican colleagues are avoiding or at least not talking about because you're right. they focus on you, tried to censure you, and did not succeed today. there is an actual piece of legislation that is moving through the congress that could actually take the victory for the family of george floyd today and put laws on the books that could actually help to prevent the next george floyd from dying in the way that he did. can you talk a little bit about the george floyd act and whether or not you believe that that is something that now has more momentum because of this

verdict. it doesn't appear that republicans at least are eager to be part of that conversation. >> you're absolutely correct. it is not easy. you would think, you know, having experienced what we have experienced and so many millions of people saw george floyd being murdered on the sidewalk. i mean, this was a very public event. you would think that we would have even republicans on the most conservative side who would say this is too much. even though i support the police, and i think that they shouldn't be challenged in their work, they know what they're doing, but something's wrong with this, with what we have seen, what we have witnessed would be ready to come forward now and change and say we do have to reign in the rogue cops. we have to make sure that they're not a part of our police departments, and they don't keep getting retired over and over

again in various jurisdictions, after they commit crimes in another district. no, it's not that easy and it's not going to be that easy passed out of this bill in the united states senate. that is why i say to the young people, you have to keep your activism up. it's not going to go away because elected officials sit and think, well, let me see, this is wrong, i've got to take care of this. often times, we're too safe in what we do, and we don't want to make any waves. that's why it's so important to have activism, and that's what the civil rights movement was all about. it was about activism. it was about confrontation. as a matter of fact, i went back and did some research on martin luther king. he had a project called project c, and you know what that was for. project confrontation, and a lot of people see that as bad, and turned my words into violence. it's not about violence.

martin luther king was nonviolent. i am nonviolent. when they take words like confrontation. used in the sit-ins for the civil rights legislation, the marches, the prayers, all of that is confrontation, so we have got to make sure that we continue to define who we are, what we do, what we care about, and not be so intimidated. we're afraid to move. the young people want to see their elders stand up. they want to feel loved and protected and they're out there now, and they have joined in with black lives matter and other organizations. they're telling us we're here to help get justice for all of us. we have no future unless you are on this case, unless you are dealing with the injustices that have taken place, that we are confronted with. i'm so pleased about this verdict today. no matter the criticism that i get, no matter the judge who

even went off, you know, about maxine waters, that's all right by me. i will continue to do what i think is in the best interest of our people. i will continue to speak truth to power, and i will continue to be an activist legislator. so i want to thank you for all of the attention that you've given to this, and the president being on your program tonight expressing his views about george floyd and i want you to know i was worried about daunte wright, the 20-year-old that got killed, when i went to minneapolis, i took his mother and father to dinner and they relaxed and we had a great time, and they said this was the only moment since this had happened that they were able to laugh and enjoy and so that's who i am. that's what i do. and that's what we all must do. we must all see that we have a role in helping to bring about justice in this country. we have a role to ensure that the people can expect to live in a real democracy, with respect

for the constitution, and respect for each other. so here we are. someone said to me today, i'm not just celebrating, i'm relieved. that's how i feel, too, i'm relieved. . thank you, joy. >> congresswoman, i think they call that good trouble. you do not back down. you continue to fight for what you believe in, and this was a good day for the family of george floyd. congresswoman maxine waters, appreciate you being here with us this evening. thank you so much. have a great evening and i want to bring in "today" show and a msnbc anchor craig melvin. i understand that you spoke with george floyd's family today. we did see a little bit of that press conference. of course, with reverend al sharpton, ben crump and others, tell us what the family had to say to you when you spoke with them after the verdict? >> yeah, joy, you know, i spent some time with the family last night. i spent time with the family a few moments ago, and i have come

to know the floyds fairly well over the past year, and philonise just described this empty ballroom. they said it's like an empty locker room because he felt like the bulls celebrating the 6th championship. it really, for the family, a sense of relief because as you guys have been talking about over the past few hours, this wasn't just about derek chauvin for so many folks in this country. philonise has been saying over the past year, if a black man can't get justice for that video that we have seen play on loop for eleven months, then a black man can't get justice for anything. and he was adamant about that, and that sort of became his rallying cry, and one of the really interesting things about the family, joy, and you know this, you spent time talking to them as well, they were fairly optimistic from the very beginning. you and i covered the george

zimmerman trial years ago. and there was not video. there was some security video, some surveillance video, but there was the video this time, and the family felt from the very beginning that the video would prove to be a slam dunk in this case. they weren't surprised by the verdict. they weren't surprised by the speed with which it came. i spent time talking to rodney, george's brother as well, and the family really did go out of their way after the press conference, especially to thank the onlookers who were there, those bystanders that we have heard so many folks talk about specifically, and we should say her name, darnella frasier, the now 17-year-old high school kid, taking her cousin to cup foods who saw something that didn't look right and took out her phone like all teenagers do these days, and taped it. had it not been for that video, we would not be having that conversation. there would not be a conviction. they went out of their way to

thank her as well. here's an interesting thing about philonise, he was driving a truck and gets that call in the middle of the night, and he is thrust into the spotlight. he's now an advocate and activist, and has made very clear, this is going to be his life's work now. he spent time talking about what you were talking about with the congresswoman from california, the justice in policing act. it's just, you know, that sense of relief that the family talked about. you can feel it. you can feel it here in minneapolis as well. we just heard from the president calling folks to be peaceful here. i just talked to our folks on the ground in minneapolis, peaceful protests so far. no rioting, no looting. people are celebrating. >> very quickly before i let you go, craig, i'm going to take friend privilege. i was with you, we covered the walter scott case together, another case in which there was video in which we were, you know, you saw it play out on video, and you sort of saw how

it seemed like it was going to go. we all know how that case turned out, at least at the local level. as you covered this case, what surprised you the most because i have to tell you i did hear those early statements by the family that they were very confident. they were much more confident than someone cynical like me was about how this would come out, at least until we saw it was a very brief time the jury spent deliberating. give me your impressions of this. what surprised you the most? >> there were a couple of things that surprised me. by the way, we should mention, you brought up the walter scott case, ironically today. the deputy in that case, michael slager, his 20 year sentence was up held today, ironically. there are a couple of things that surprised me about this case. first of all, again, not to belabor the point. the video. the video was just -- and i think that's what compelled so many people in the middle of a pandemic to hit the streets, not just in this country, but around the world, you see that video,

it stirred something. >> yes. >> and i think even during the trial when you saw the different vantage points, it stirred something, which would explain. the thing that struck me was the people at the protests, they didn't look like me and you by and large. the people at the protests, they were young and they were kwhilt, and -- white, and that's when i knew this was different. this really was different. that surprised me, and if you look at it objectively, the case that was presented by the prosecution, we have covered cases like this so many times over the years. doctors don't testify against doctors, lawyers don't testify against lawyers. cross, they don't cross that blue line often, and in this case, when you have the police chief testifying, no, no, this isn't anything we have taught. >> that's right. >> that was -- and i think that was a game changer. i think what you also saw perhaps is precedent.

you see police officers in minneapolis who felt compelled to speak up and testify against one of their own, next time something like this happens, maybe you see the same. >> yeah. it was an extraordinary thing. when they showed that graphic in the closing arguments, and i believe it was mr. blackwell that showed the graphic with all the police officers all ringed around, it was like, wow, i have never seen a police officer against another police officer. it was extraordinary. craig melvin, thank you so much for spending time this evening. thank you so much, great reporting. really appreciate you. joining me from downtown minneapolis, another fantastic reporter that has been really in the middle of this and reporting and doing such a great job. shaq, shaquille brewster. give us a sense of how people are feeling, relief, shock, what is it people are expressing, i know you're blocks from the courthouse. >> we're blocks away from the courthouse. you can see the barbed wire in the downtown area, still in this

area. this is a march turned rally. the rally portion just wrapped up. they are now marching again, and really it depends on who you're talking to. some people are relieved. they know and they were holding their breath. they just were skeptical the entire time. they heard and saw that case that craig was talking about, what they considered to be a strong case, witness after witness, bystander after bystander, come and take the stand. they saw and heard the use of force experts, the police officers, come up and take the stand but they said they would not let themselves believe that it was possible for a jury of 12 to come to that unanimous decision. so there's that shock there. there's also frustration still at what is yet to come. what they consider injustice for other people who have lost their lives at the hands of police. ten minutes, 15 minutes from where i'm standing right now in brooklyn center, minnesota, we're talking about daunte wright, the 20-year-old who as this trial was going on was shot

and killed by police. many of these protesters who are marching at the courthouse right now, they plan on going to brooklyn center right after this. they want the focus to be on what they say is a precedent. they want there to be accountability, and to that point, you know, something that we heard in those closing arguments, we heard that emphasis from the prosecution that this is not an anti-police prosecution. it's a pro-police prosecution. you heard them say the police officers is the most noble profession and put it on the jury if you want to uphold policing, they say you have to come down and crack down on what they consider to be bad officers. for the people here at this protest. for the people who are marching through the streets of minneapolis, this is very much to send a message about police accountability. they are making clear that it's not just about george floyd. that banner that you see up there, it says justice for george floyd, the whole world is watching. if you look at the letters, it

looks like it's colored and shaded black. but really, what that is, those are names of other people who have lost their lives at the hands of police, and their message is very clear, and that they want their to be justice for others. they don't want the focus to be just on george floyd. that's what you're hearing now. you have people still marching. they are relieved, celebrating, they got what they wanted which was that guilty verdict on all three counts despite their biggest skepticism and suspicions but they're focused on what they believe is next and a bigger and more noble cause, joy. >> shack brewster, thank you very much, appreciate you. joined now by val demings a member of the black caucus, and former police chief of orlando, florida. very excited to talk with you this evening congresswoman. i just want to get your reaction stepping back from your position as a member of congress but as a

former law enforcement leader and a former law enforcement officer, your impressions of this verdict? >> it's great to be back with you. as you know, i served 30 years as a law enforcement officer, chief of police, working in the criminal justice system. we said from the beginning we wanted to see justice in this trial. and justice prevailed, and having worked in the system for almost three decades today seeing the criminal justice system work was exactly what we needed to see, it's what the community needed to see, it's what law enforcement officers needed to see. as you know, the burden of proof was on the prosecution and they presented a case that eliminated any reasonable doubt but also i want to take a moment to mention the bystanders, too, when we think about how this case came together, the bystanders, the

young woman who did the video, the 9-year-old who testified, older people, younger people accounts didn't have a duty to act as police officers do, but they did, they testified, and all of that culminated in a strong guilty verdict on today. shaquille brewster made an important point that i thought was smart on the part of the prosecutors here. they saids to jury, this is not an anti-police prosecution. it's a pro-police prosecution. you had ten law enforcement officers testify against derek chauvin, essentially breaking the blue wall of silence. i wonder if you think, and i asked this question earlier, whether or not you think that this verdict is durable in terms of changing the way police operate, aaron haynes, a great reporter from the 19th reminded some of us earlier today, when police first talked about this incident and put out their release, they release claimed that george floyd had died in a medical incident. they characterized it in a very

different way which if we in the media had taken that and run with it as the media too often does, we would have believed as we did initially in the walter scott that the police had done nothing wrong. we know that this officer was just convicted of second-degree, third-degree murder and manslaughter. how do we get police to behave differently in terms of the way they themselves communicate about what officers have done, and get other officers to feel like they can stand up to a police officer who's doing something wrong. how do we do that? >> how do we do that? we do that by example, and this case was just a prime example of the community and the police stepping up and doing what's right. i watched the day the police chief came in and testified, the police lieutenant came in and testified, and also the training

officer who said very clearly the technique that was used is not what we teach at this department and so what we have seen, i do believe that there is a clear path to move forward because we have seen what we have seldom never seen before and that's a police officer standing up for what they know is right. now, we know that the overwhelming majority of men and women are good, decent, courageous people who risk their lives every day doing a very tough job. as the president says, when the police failed to protect the community, they must be held accountable. and so for law enforcement officers everywhere, joy, and should want to get better. for good cops is a bad cop, and so we all should want to do better. we can do better because we've seen officers do better.

>> i hate to bring this up and make you have to deal with this once again. congressman jim jordan had a go at you today, he didn't do very well, one should know if they tried you. he did try you today. you made the point that he and his colleagues on the republican side love to talk about police when they want to use them for their own political purposes. you did see republicans today attempt to censure congresswoman maxine waters who has been an advocate against police violence since the '90s or even before that. they don't seem eager to jump on the george floyd bill to help pass that bill. do you think first of all the george floyd bill will get through the house? do you think there will be any republican support for it, and what do you think the chances of it becoming law are pragmatically? >> joy, i think today is a major day in u.s. history with this

verdict. we do have to ask ourselves what's next. the what's next is to get the george floyd police in justice act passed. is it perfect, absolutely not, but that is the next step. we need to get that legislation passed and bring the community and the police working together so that the police can do a better job. and so, you know, when i listened to jim jordan today, he who loves to use the police as a political pawn, but he who has not been there for law enforcement when they really needed had his voice, what i heard today, joy, was a person who has no real agenda, they have no real plan to put forth to the american people so they continue to try to distract congress and distract the american people with their foolishness. so today, i just was not having

his hypocrisy and their hypocrisy. >> i'm from florida, i know who you are, so you don't generally have time for foolishness. thank you very much, congresswoman val demings, thank you so much for being here, really appreciate you, and joining me is staff writer at the new yorker. i don't know you're not far from the scene of where george floyd died, i believe, jelani, you have been back and forth to minneapolis, give me your impressions, what are people saying? what is the mood, and big picture because i'm glad to have a historian on in this moment. >> yeah, i'm right near the intersection of 38th and chicago where george floyd died. and it's become a kind of sacred space. there is a cordon around it. there are flowers. there are candles. people come out and pay their respects at that corner. and behind me now, as you can probably hear, you can probably see some of it, there's a

gigantic rally taking place. there are, you know, probably easily a thousand people who are crowded into this intersection who have come out and really are kind of elated atmosphere and t the streets chanting. there was a band playing. in new orleans, they would have called a second line. it is a band playing. there are people marching behind it chanting, we got that justice, now we got that peace. one of the things you hear when you talk with people is that this is just one part of their struggle, that there are many things that have to happen. obviously for people who are thinking about the particular details of this case, there is another set of trials for the three other officers who were there that day. and that will start in august. and, you know, that will have implications, obviously, for how people view the ultimate outcome

as to whether how much justice was obtained. and there are a whole wrath of other things we could get into about the future of the minneapolis police department. there's no shortage of questions tonight. >> i want to get you to zoom out just a little bit because i was going through with congresswoman waters, you could do breonna taylor, tamir rice, rodney king who survived his encounter, philando castile, just added adam toledo case, michael brown. we have them all over the shirts we've bought, black lives matter shirts. there are so many cases. this is such a rare outcome, as you and i have discussed. >> it is. >> what does it mean that this outcome happened? what does it actually mean that this happened? >> so, here's what i think is notable. this outcome happened. people were shocked, quite frankly, that there were three

convictions, that they were convicted on all three charges. but when we look at the two closest analogs, which is the conviction of the officer who shot laquan mcdonald in chicago and who shot walter scott in south carolina, there are two things that leap out. first was that laquan mcdonald, because that video had been suppressed, when it came out, ignited a political crisis, political powers far above the police officer who fired the shot. -- for walter scott, taser near his dying body, happened in the context of those people who were killed in charleston. >> yeah. we are --

>> [ inaudible ]. >> we are losing -- we are losing our connection, unfortunately. and i really wanted to hear the rest of what jahlani had to say. we're going to try to get a connection back. we're going to hold you for just one moment. if we do have time, we'll try to come back to you. but i want to get in congresswoman bush of miss who is ready to go. and i want to get your impressions of what we saw today. you, of course, are from the place where the michael brown incident happened. and there was nothing. there was no justice for his family. what do you make of what happened today in the case of george floyd? >> today was -- we saw accountability happen. today we saw what we've been wanting to see every single time one of us is murdered at the hands of police. you know, but what we really want to see is true justice, which means life. like, don't touch our lives. that's what we want to see. true justice means that it would have meant that george floyd would still be alive. it meant -- it would mean that

daunte wright would still be alive. it would mean that michael brown would still be here. that's what true justice is. and so right now i want to be like, yeah, you know, yea, that thing happened. but you know what? what should have happened was we should be sitting here talking about something totally different. let's talk about the climate crisis. let's talk about clean water and clean air. let's talk about other things that are happening in our community. why are we talking about being happy that somebody is -- that somebody has guilty charges because they took one of our lives? you know, that is -- that's the issue. we have to change this conversation. you know, why are we catching it on the back end? you know, we have to do the work on the front end. and let me say this, joy, i'm so sick and tired of hearing the good cop/bad cop thing. and i know i said it over and over again before. but let me just lay it out again. there should not be any good cops and bad cops. why is that a discussion.

there should be cops. if we're going to have cops, there should be cops. let that be that. we don't go in and say that's a good nurse, that's a bad nurse, that's a good pilot, that's a bad pilot, that's a good chef, that's a bad chef. we don't do that. so, why do police officers get that? no. if your job is to protect and serve, do that. not going after targeting people who look like me simply because we look like a threat because you have a problem. >> yeah. you know, and congresswoman, you make a really good point. if there was a restaurant chain that killed a certain percentage of its customers, you wouldn't say that one cook was good, but at least the rest of them -- that one cook is bad but the rest of them are good. you wouldn't want to have that in your community feeding and killing a certain number of people. i wonder how we back out of this system where black communities are the ones getting ticketed and the tickets and the funds

are funding the police and their pensions to then turn around and kill people for nothing when they're pulling them over for crimes that are essentially revenue-generating minor incidents in which people die. >> well, first of all, we have to quit giving the police the pass at every dang thing. let's start with that. they don't get a pass at every single thing because their job is to protect and serve. you know what? you know who else serves? you know who else serves? nurses and store clerks. firefighters. you know who else serves? teachers. all of us have a part in serves the community. so, you know what? they don't get this extra -- this blanket of comfortable. so, you should be just as held accountable as anybody else. so, that and their police unions. i'm so glad we just elected in st. louis the first black woman mayor for st. louis, and hopefully we will be able to do the work together and deal with

our police unions that don't care for all the people. they don't care for the black and brown pop in our communities. they don't care for the indigenous folk in our communities. so, we do this work together. that's one. the other thing is alternatives to policing. let's remember police don't have to be the ones to show up when someone is having some type of an issue with their mental health. they don't have to be the ones to show up. how do i know? i'm a mental health nurse. been there, done that. i see how we can do other things. there are other options. we just have to think that thing through and actually put it to work on the municipal level, ton state level and the federal level. that's why i'm in congress, to work on the federal level and bring that voice. and this too. when we talk about police showing up for -- some are saying you really want police to show up for certain calls. well, you know what? there are other people that are paid that actually have, you

know, the training to handle certain situations. why not let them do their jobs? there are social workers and therapists that would love to take care of the community that way. so, you know, as an activist and as a legislator, i'm saying alternatives to policing need to happen now. we need to have those real conversations. >> and the last question i've asked this of all the members of congress who have been lucky to get three member of congress in one night. i want to thank all of you for doing this. the george floyd act, is it enough? will it become law, in your view? >> i believe it will become law. i know we need to add some things. that's just one piece of legislation, you know, that is the start. one thing i said earlier today, it's like we just flicked the lock open. it's the beginning. it's not the end all, be all, just like there's no other legislation where it couldn't be built upon, you know? so, that handles something. let me tell you, the qualified immunity it's going to help with

is going to be the thing that we really, really need. that's the start. we're going to start somewhere and get us something because you know what? this is the thing, joy, it wasn't fixed before we got here. so to say this isn't enough and that, i get it. we've got to having this. while i'm here i'm putting my mouth and feet hands to that and to other legislation to make sure we save black lives. we want to save black lives in every single way we can. and we're doing that now. >> congresswoman cori bush, thank you so much for being here. thank you for the work you do, the advocacy, the passion. i really appreciate you taking time to be here with us tonight. this is a big night. it is an important night. thank you for spending some time. really appreciate it. that is tonight's "reidout." we have a lot more to talk about because this was an extraordinary situation that we just don't see that often. and i thank all of you for riding with us through this show because this is not the normal show the way we would normally do ""the reidout"."

you just need to for a moment settle this in your spirit. police officers do not get convicted, particularly of killing black folks. it doesn't happen. i've been covering black lives matter cases since 2011. i have not seen this number of police officers testify against other police officers. i have not seen this, you know, level of conviction. you're talking about second degree murder, third degree murder, manslaughter. it's extraordinary. and now i guess we just have to see whether or not that brings change, if we bring -- if that brings change that is lasting. that is our coverage at least in my hour tonight. i want to throw it over to my friend chris hayes. chris, it is your turn, but i do want to very quickly, friend privilege, what do you make of this, chris? >> you know, it's funny -- not funny. the feeling i had when the jury read the verdict was a combination of first relief and then very intense sadness and grief. i think that at some