'We can't stop here': Policing under scrutiny after former officer's murder conviction

But many said they had prepared for a different result after watching countless deaths of people of color at the hands of police go unpunished. The shooting death of another Black man, Daunte Wright, by officers in suburban Minneapolis during the trial and of 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago last month heightened tensions and muted the court victory for many.

“We are relieved but not celebrating because the killing continues,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who traveled to Minneapolis for the verdict, said in a telephone interview. “We hope this is the breaking point to stop legal lynching.”

President Joe Biden said Tuesday the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd “can be a giant step forward” for the nation in the fight against systemic racism. But he declared that "it's not enough.”

Biden spoke from the White House hours after the verdict alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, with the pair saying the country’s work is far from finished with the verdict.

“We can’t stop here," Biden declared.

Biden and Harris called on Congress to act swiftly to address policing reform, including by approving a bill named for Floyd, who died with his neck under Chauvin’s knee last May. Beyond that, the president said, the entire country must confront hatred to “change hearts and minds as well as laws and policies.”

With a collective nervous energy, millions of people paused in front of television sets or other screens Tuesday for a verdict in the case that for nearly a year has exposed the raw nerve of racial relations in America.

Three times they heard a Minnesota judge, Peter Cahill, read the jury's verdict declaring former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on the neck of a Black man, George Floyd, until he died last May.

Cahill's words led to a visible release of tension, both in the faces of news anchors onscreen and in crowds captured by cameras outside.

“Thank you, Jesus,” responded anchor Don Lemon on CNN.

“My stomach isn't in knots anymore,” said analyst Eddie Glaude on NBC.

“I do think this will restore some faith in the justice system that was so badly needed,” said Gayle King, CBS News anchor.

Heightening tension, police shot and killed a teenage girl in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon, just as the verdict in the George Floyd murder trial was being announced.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was at the scene Tuesday night on the city's southeast side, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Reports: Police shoot, kill teenage girl in Columbus