Minneapolis residents anxious for Derek Chauvin trial verdict

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - At the Urban Touch Barbers in south Minneapolis, employees and customers have been following every move in the trial of Derek Chauvin. Now that closing arguments are over, the waiting begins.

"A lot of anxiety," said Billy Hill, barbershop owner. "A little fearful, but at the same time really excited. Just waiting to get this over and done with and moving."

The barbershop is about a mile from 38th and Chicago where George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police. Hill says the fear of the unknown and what the jury will ultimately decide is hard to put into words.

"The seed has been planted," said Hill. "Now we'll see what type of harvest that we have."

Meanwhile in Uptown, some say the presence of National Guard members -- which is supposed to make them feel safer -- is actually putting them more on edge.

"Honestly I feel less safe. I don't like seeing armed guards on the corners with AR-15s," said Courtney Strasburg of Minneapolis. "I feel like it’s making the community feel less safe."

"We've got armed guards," said Brady Lambert of Minneapolis. "We've got helicopters flying over. It's hard to sleep and yeah. I'm tired ... I want the trial to be over. But I don't want the conversation to be over."

Across town at Sammy's Avenue Eatery on West Broadway in north Minneapolis, Manager Eureka Johnson hasn't been following the trial on purpose.

"Just anticipating what the atmosphere is going to be like," said Johnson. "I don't even want to think about it."

Johnson says the cafe went untouched during the unrest last year and she hopes the same thing happens after the verdict in the Chauvin trial, too.

"I think we're going to have a little unrest no matter what," said Johnson. "It doesn't matter which way it goes. Someone is going to be upset. We want peace. We want community. We want unity. We just want all this to go away, but it’s not."