Some justice, finally, for George Floyd
Justice has prevailed. On Tuesday, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on three counts for murdering George Floyd last May after Floyd attempted to use a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase cigarettes. The guilty verdict cannot bring back George Floyd, but it brings needed justice to one of the most grotesque examples of police violence this nation has ever seen.
As millions of people around the world saw and heard, Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of George Floyd for over nine minutes while Floyd begged for his life.
There was no reason for a chain of events which began with a petty offense to end in the killing of an already detained individual by a police officer in the company of other police officers.
George Floyd’s life was not considered valuable enough by Chauvin or his fellow officers on the scene to be treated with the dignity and empathy he deserved.
Unpacking why that it is and figuring out how to avoid similar circumstances from happening has forced difficult and contentious conversations over the past year.
From reckoning with America’s troubled history with race to resolving the glaring shortcomings in police training across the the country to bigger discussions of justice in America, the murder of George Floyd has unleashed necessary discussions, debates and reforms.
Such discussions and efforts must continue,
Police officers are entrusted with considerable power. As agents of the state, they are tasked with making critical decisions.
They are trained, compensated and often given lucrative pensions and other benefits to carry out their responsibilities professionally and with great care.
To their credit, most in law enforcement perform their duties honorably, with the best of intentions and make the communities they serve safer.
But when they make mistakes, abuse their power or obviously violate the rights of their fellow Americans accountability is critical.
We reiterate our call for Congress to abolish the courtinvented doctrine of qualified immunity, which shields agents of the state from liability when they violate the constitutional rights of their fellow Americans.
We also reiterate our support for Congress to swiftly abolish federal marijuana prohibition, a necessary and politically achievable means of scaling back the war on drugs, which is behind many of the worst practices of police abuses and disproportionate law enforcement interactions with minority populations in particular.
Better training and higher standards for officers, along with greater funding for mental health services are all critical to avoiding unnecessary police violence.
America has learned a lot from the murder of George Floyd. Here’s to hoping America doesn’t forget those lessons and commits to positive change from here.