‘Justice can prevail.’ Group gathers in Lexington after verdict in Derek Chauvin trial

A group that has been protesting since last summer against police violence gathered Tuesday night in downtown Lexington to hear the verdict announced in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd.

April Taylor, a member of LPD Accountability and a prominent protest organizer in Lexington, was emotional after the verdict was read. She addressed the group of a few dozen that gathered in front of the Fayette County courthouses.

Taylor said Tuesday night that she was grateful for the guilty verdict, but that police reforms are needed to prevent more deaths.

“I am worried about what will happen on appeal,” Taylor said. And she said, as a tear rolled down her cheek, “There are so many other people who have lost their lives who did not get justice.”

Taylor hopes that the verdict in Chauvin’s case will encourage people to keep fighting because “there are moments when we can have wins, when justice can prevail.”

Garland Watkins came to the courthouses in Lexington to show support.

“I feel relieved, mainly because of the way things have ended up in my lifetime,” Watkins said after the verdict. “I’m 65 years old. It’s time for a change. I’m happy to see it.”

Watkins also said that there’s still work to be done, but that the crowd outside the courthouse in Minneapolis showed that “people are thinking differently in America.”

In Louisville, family of Breonna Taylor spoke out in support of the verdict. Taylor, 26, was killed by police in Louisville last March after officers burst into her apartment in the middle of the night to execute a no-knock search warrant.

None of the officers involved were charged in Taylor’s death, though one was indicted for firing shots that went into neighboring apartments.

“Today justice has been served but we are not fighting for justice for all of the victims and families for haven’t received theirs ... This isn’t over ,” Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, said on Twitter Tuesday.

Tears roll down April Taylor’s cheeks as she is moved with emotion during an interview about the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.@heraldleader @MorganEads1 pic.twitter.com/rJLqAy5weM

— Silas Walker (@sigh_las) April 20, 2021

April Taylor, community organizer who works with LPD Accountability, said she is “grateful” for the guilty verdict for the sake of George Floyd’s family, and she said it’s a reminder that “the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice.”

— HLpublicsafety (@HLpublicsafety) April 20, 2021

“I am worried about what will happen on appeal,” April Taylor said. And she said, as a tear rolled down her cheek, “There are so many other people who have lost their lives who did not get justice.”

— HLpublicsafety (@HLpublicsafety) April 20, 2021

“We need reforms so that people don’t have to continue to die,” Taylor said.

— HLpublicsafety (@HLpublicsafety) April 20, 2021

Garland Watkins came to courthouses in Lexington to show support. “I feel relieved, mainly because of the way things have ended up in my lifetime. I’m 65 years old. It’s time for a change. I’m happy to see it,” he said of the guilty verdict. pic.twitter.com/zSHJWqNvgy

— HLpublicsafety (@HLpublicsafety) April 20, 2021

“This is something that needed to happen,” Watkins said. But, he said, “there’s still a lot of work to be done.” He said the crowd outside the Minneapolis courthouse shows “People are thinking differently in America.”

— HLpublicsafety (@HLpublicsafety) April 20, 2021

Today justice has been served but we are not fighting for justice for all of the victims and families for haven’t received theirs

This isn’t over #BreonnaTaylor #AhmaudArbery #AdamToledo #JacobBlake #DaunteWright #SeanMonterrosa

— Tamika Palmer (@TamikaPalmer911) April 20, 2021

Herald-Leader reporter Morgan Eads contributed to this report.