House

Ocasio-Cortez: Chauvin ‘verdict is not a substitute for policy change’

by Sarah Polus - 04/20/21 7:20 PM ET

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) shared a stern message on Twitter on Tuesday after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd.

“This verdict is not a substitute for policy change,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote shortly after Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

“That a family had to lose a son, brother and father; that a teenage girl had to film and post a murder, that millions across the country had to organize and march just for George Floyd to be seen and valued is not justice,” she wrote.

That a family had to lose a son, brother and father; that a teenage girl had to film and post a murder, that millions across the country had to organize and march just for George Floyd to be seen and valued is not justice.

And this verdict is not a substitute for policy change. https://t.co/tiDkhl9Dk4

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 20, 2021

Ocasio-Cortez also went live on Instagram to further drive home her points.

“I don’t want this to be framed as the system working—b/c it’s not working,” she said, as reported by NBC News’s Sahil Kapur.

“This isn’t justice,” @AOC says in an Instagram live. “Justice is George Floyd going home to his family tonight.”

“I don’t want this to be framed as the system working—b/c it’s not working.. It’s really important that this verdict is not used as a replacement for policy change.” pic.twitter.com/SkMoOkDuyu

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 20, 2021

Ocasio-Cortez was one of many lawmakers who took to social media to call for policy change after the verdict was announced, notably increased law enforcement accountability and reform of the justice system. Many others pushed for the Senate passage of the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, which the House gave the green light in March after a 220-212 vote.