Ex-cop Derek Chauvin is going to prison for murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.

A cop is going to prison for killing a Black person. I can count on one hand how many times Ive seen this outcome : Roy Oliver for murdering Jordan Edwards, Jason Van Dyke for killing Laquan McDonald and Amber Guyger for taking the life of Botham Jean.

On Tuesday, after the jury deliberated for 10 hours, the judge announced that Chauvin had been found guilty on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter. Almost a year after Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyds neck for more than nine minutes over an alleged counterfeit bill, he is being held accountable for his crime.

The guilty verdict in Chauvins case is an unfortunate anomaly. Its dreadfully rare for a cop to be held accountable for taking a Black life in this country. And its terribly exhausting as a Black person, especially one who works in media, to relive the cycle of nonaccountability that occurs over and over and over and over and over again.

The cycle has seemingly become routine: A Black person is killed by the state. We mourn. We protest. In the media, the victims story often gets reduced to the final moments of their life. Police reports highlight drug use, criminal history and any other harmful racial stereotypes in an effort to defend the officer and blame the victim for their own death. We demand charges and accountability. Too often, that doesnt happen. In the event that the cops are indicted, it often leads to a trial that ends in acquittal. Its all too predictable.

This guilty verdict is good news. I should be relieved, but Im not. Im exhausted. Even after refusing to watch the infamous video and skipping live footage from the Chauvin trial to protect my own sanity, I am quite possibly the most tired Ive ever been in my career.