Van Jones: If Chauvin isn't guilty, it'll be seen as 'open season' for cops to 'murder in broad daylight'

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George Floyd, Derek Chauvin and Minneapolis' struggle for progress

Hardship reigns through Minneapolis almost one year after George Floyd's death.

CNN commentator Van Jones suggested that a not-guilty verdict for Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd would set a grim perception across the country that police can "get away with murder."

Monday marked the first day of Chauvin's trial where the prosecutors are making the case that the police officer's kneeling on Floyd's neck led to his death. 

During "Cuomo Prime Time," Jones began by saying that "everybody" he's spoken to who've watched the trial are "frustrated, retriggered, retraumatized" over rewatching the viral video footage showing Floyd's becoming lifeless while on the pavement. 

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"You have a generation of African Americans and their allies, this entire young generation that is watching this," Jones said. "The system is on trial."

He continued, "And if this is considered legal conduct from a police officer, if you can do this in broad daylight and not go to jail, it will be perceived as open season, telling police officers from coast to coast you can literally get away with murder in broad daylight."

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CNN anchor Chris Cuomo warned that "this is a case that is not as easy to make as people expect," pointing to the drugs that were in Floyd's system during the altercation with police. 

"If you get one juror to believe that the amount of drugs in his system may have been contributed to what happened to him that day, it could be over," Cuomo said. 

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Jones called that outcome "terrible," but quickly pointed to the outcome of the Rodney King trial, insisting it wasn't "liberty and justice for all."

"This is a different precipice we're hanging over now," Jones argued. "Because you have an entire generation- and it's not just African Americans, it's all of our allies... this is the system on trial for a generation."