As jury selection opens for the trial of Derek Chauvin, a new poll finds only 36% of American adults believe the former Minneapolis police officer …
As jury selection opens for the trial of Derek Chauvin, a new poll finds only 36% of American adults believe the former Minneapolis police officer is guilty of murdering George Floyd. The USA Today/Ipsos survey also finds Americans’ trust in the Black Lives Matter movement has fallen while their faith in local law enforcement has risen since protests in response to Floyd’s death on Memorial Day 2020 erupted across the nation. Horrific video of Floyd dying while Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck fueled widespread national outrage. In June, the same pollster found 60% of Americans described Floyd’s death as murder. However, since then, body cam footage from officers involved in the incident combined with the toxicology report indicate that Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose, and defense attorneys contend Chauvin adhered to his training by the Minneapolis Police Department. In the new survey,64% of black Americans view Floyd’s death as murder. But only 28% of white Americans see it that way. Nevertheless, the poll found that of the Americans who have heard at least something about Chauvin’s trial,60% hope he is convicted and only 15% want him to be acquitted.
