Teen who recorded George Floyd's arrest reacts to Chauvin verdict: 'Justice has been served'

Bystanders watch as George Floyd is arrested in May 2020.

(Image credit: Minneapolis Police Department via AP, File)

last updated 21 April 2021

Darnella Frazier, the teenager who used her cellphone to record George Floyd's arrest last May outside of Cup Foods in Minneapolis, wrote on Facebook that she "cried so hard" on Tuesday when it was announced that former police officer Derek Chauvin had been found guilty of murdering Floyd, an unarmed Black man.

Frazier, then 17, had gone to the market with her younger cousin to buy a snack. The footage she captured, which showed Chauvin with his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, has been seen around the world; without it, there's widespread speculation Chauvin would have never been prosecuted. Frazier was one of the first witnesses to testify at Chauvin's trial, telling the court there have been "nights I stayed up apologizing and apologized to George Floyd for not doing more."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox