COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jury deliberations in the trial of Derek Chauvin started Monday.
Chauvin, a former police officer, is charged in the May 2020 death of George Floyd.
The trial and thoughts about the final verdict are causing Stanley Gates and others in the Black community to have an unsettling feeling.
“It’s a lot of frustration, a lot of anger, you know I’m truly scared. I want Chauvin to be convicted, I want him to go to jail. I want justice,” said Gates.
He said his fear grows even more around what could happen if proper justice isn’t served.
Gates said he believes there could be more protests and unrest.
10TV also spoke with Rev. Tim Aherns. He told us people have a right to be angry and raise their voices to be heard. But not violently.
“I’m praying for all of us that we find a way to justice with peace,” he said.
Aherns wrote a prayer for peace. “Move past the madness of hatred and racism, and find a way to see one another as human,” said Aherns.
Gates says he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. He just hopes that people can stand together and move forward despite whatever the final verdict is.
“At the end of the day, if we don’t, we’re not going to get progress, we’re not going to see change,” said Gates.