Santa Monica Police React: Chauvin Convicted In Floyd Murder

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica police urged people to remain calm and peaceful following the guilty verdict reached Tuesday in the trial of Derek Chauvin. The department activated its pre-planned response by increasing the number of police officers patrolling the city, officials announced.

"As of now, there’s no other intelligence or information of anything going on here in the city, surrounding area, or anything else going on," Lt. Rudy Flores told Patch.

RELATED: Police Prepare For Possible Unrest After Chauvin Trial

"Your police department is steadfastly committed to you and your safety and accordingly, we remain in contact with our regional partners and have activated our pre-planned tiered response," Santa Monica Police Department officials said in a statement released on Twitter. "You will continue to see a strong presence of uniformed police personnel throughout the city. We urge our community to remain calm and peaceful. It is imperative that our community remain vigilant at all times."

Police urged the public to stay vigilant and report suspicious activity.

"If you see something, say something by calling our dispatch center at 310-458-8491 or 9-1-1 in the event of a life-threatening an emergency," police said.

RELATED: SMMUSD Superintendent Responds To Chauvin's Guilty Verdict

At 12:30 PM, The #SantaMonica Police Department was notified that a verdict has been reached in the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin. Your police department is steadfastly committed to you and your safety and accordingly, we remain in contact with our regional partners and
— Santa Monica Police (@SantaMonicaPD) April 20, 2021

have activated our pre-planned tiered response. You will continue to see a strong presence of uniformed police personnel throughout the city. We urge our community to remain calm and peaceful. It is imperative that our community remain vigilant at all times.
— Santa Monica Police (@SantaMonicaPD) April 20, 2021

If you see something, say something by calling our dispatch center at 310-458-8491 or 9-1-1 in the event of a life-threatening an emergency.
— Santa Monica Police (@SantaMonicaPD) April 20, 2021

Chauvin is a former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck last year. A jury found that Chauvin was guilty on all counts.

After two weeks of jury selection in the trial, 12 jurors were selected out of more than 300. The jurors were tasked with deliberating on one of the most controversial cases in modern history.

Chauvin was convicted Tuesday with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Law enforcement agencies all over California were preparing for potential unrest as the nation anxiously awaited the verdict of the trial. Last summer, a groundswell of activism swept the nation and the Golden State after Floyd’s death on May 31. In Santa Monica, at least 200 businesses were damaged during a chaotic afternoon and night of looting stores and fires that badly destroyed some businesses in the downtown area.

The verdict — which was reached in about 10 hours — was read Tuesday afternoon. Chauvin’s sentencing hearing will take place in eight weeks.

Chauvin faces a max of 75 years in prison under Minnesota law.

After it was announced that a verdict had been reached, demonstrators quickly congregated outside of the Hennepin County courthouse — where the trial took place — and at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, where Floyd spent his last moments.

- Patch Editors Kat Schuster and Nicole Charky contributed to this report.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 6:34 p.m. with additional information from the Santa Monica Police Department.

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