Law gets tougher on rogue US cops

CHANGE: MORE OFFICERS INVESTIGATED AND CHARGED

Not being given the benefit of the doubt any more.

When the police officer who killed George Floyd was found guilty of murder in April, the slain black man’s lawyer hailed the verdict as a “turning point in history”, so rare is it for a cop to be found guilty in the US.

But a handful of police officers have since been indicted – indicating the justice system may be a little less reluctant to pursue rogue officers.

Although police kill an average of 1 000 people every year, only 110 officers were charged with murder between 2005 and 2015, according to a count by Bowling Green State University.

Only 42 were convicted and, of those, just five were found guilty of murder.

The legal framework is “very deferential” to police officers because it grants them “a great deal of discretion”, said Seth Stoughton, a former police officer who became a professor of law at the University of South Carolina.

Agents have the right to kill as long as their use of force is considered “reasonable” in the face of the perceived risk.

But since the Derek Chauvin trial – the officer convicted of killing Floyd – a change seems to be taking root, with about eight officers charged for killing suspects in recent months.

In the courts, too, change is noticeable.

“My sense is, prosecutors are looking a little harder at some of these incidents than they have previously,” said Stoughton. Jurors also may be “a little bit less willing to give the officer the benefit of the doubt”. –