Chauvin Guilty, Road To Police Reform Begins
With the conviction of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a nation drew a collective sigh of relief as fears of an acquittal were dashed and riots averted. America has become numb to the violence law enforcement has doled out on people of color and has grown accustomed to police officers evading justice. Not today.
Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison for second-degree unintentional murder, 25 years for third-degree murder and 10 years for manslaughter. Because Chauvin, 45, has no prior felonies, state sentencing guidelines recommend a range of around 11 to 15 years in prison for the murder offenses and around four years for the manslaughter charge, but prosecutors said they might seek a harsher sentence.
America watched in horror the face of a murderer slowly taking the life of a black man handcuffed and not resisting. They also heard the voice of a man crying out in pain for air and for his mother. The death occurred in real time as shocked Minneapolis residents shouted for the tortuous treatment of Floyd to stop. As his life ebbed away Chauvin, with his hands calmly in his pockets looked on emotionless as Floyd died under his horrible knee. Perhaps it took an act of violence so craven and callous to shake a thoughtful nation to its very core for this verdict to become possible.
Chauvin’s own police chief and many expert witnesses in police tactics said what happened to Floyd was not proper police practice. Basically, law enforcement said one of theirs crossed the line and acted cruelly. For the moment this sends a message that this kind of policing will not be tolerated. Or will it?
The problem is, this is just one case and there will be others. Because for everywhere else not much has changed. Police departments are still filled with people who should not wear a badge or carry a gun. Laws protecting police with immunity are still in place. Protocols allow cops to perform choking moves and a litany of other dangerous tactics. Police can kill if they decide they are in danger and do so knowing nothing will happen to them.
To be sure there will be Federal attempts to impose police reform, but it will mostly come from state and local governments. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine anything progressive coming out of Oklahoma. Presently, in cases like ex-Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby who went to trial and was acquitted for the murder of Terrence Crutcher, juries will not hold police officers who shoot unarmed black men in the back accountable. God knows Tiffany Crutcher has tried to push for police reforms. Shelby left the Tulsa Police Department only to be hired by Rogers County Sheriff’s Department.
Police reform in Oklahoma? Oklahoma’s response to protests against police violence is to make it legal to run over and kill protesters without legal liability. Hopefully, Oklahomans will grow tired of being mocked nationally and can find ways to keep citizens safe from police violence.
White Americans found out what its like to protest against police violence. You get police violence. The present mindset is to not expect for police to reform themselves at this point. They certainly need input and to be considered but it’s difficult to reform someone dressed for war.
Americans are conservative when it comes to fighting crime, because they have a lot to conserve. Americans from about every walk of life expect policemen to ruthlessly fight crime that they are the victim of. Unfortunately, that type of individual might also lack impulse control and crave physical violence. The cop beating protestors with violent rage may also be the same cop that walks through dark doors at night trying to keep the public safe. It is complicated. In a land where the gap between rich and poor grows wider every year, those stuck in the middle are most often the victims of crime. These are complicated times.
Today brought a measure of justice that also stood as a reminder of how far America needs to go before we feel safe from criminals and police.
Did Maxine Go Too Far?
Attorneys for convicted Derek Chauvin moved for a mistrial because they believed U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters’ comments would influence the jury or make them feel threatened if they returned anything other than a guilty verdict. Waters was in Minnesota to show her support for families affected by police violence. Her comments have come under fire from the defense and republican lawmakers.
On Saturday night she called for protesters to “stay on the street” and “get more confrontational” if Chauvin is acquitted in Floyd’s killing. Those comments were seen as inciting violence. She also said, “we’ve got to stay in the street and demand justice.” While her comments were passionate and strong, they were not perceived by most to be a call for riots or violence.
Judge Peter Cahill suggested Waters comments could provide ammo for defense attorneys to appeal any conviction. He went on to scold Waters for her comments but added he did not think her opinions were important.
It would take jurors suggesting they were frightened because of Waters words and even Cahill said that was unlikely. The judge chose to not sequester the jurors.
Maxine Waters called for the kind of non-violent action taken by the civil rights movement that were confrontational but not violent. Needless to say, she is far from being guilty of inciting a riot. If that is what they believe they better charge President Donald J. Trump for inciting a riot that did occur and where people died at the U.S. Capitol.
Waters is a lawmaker who has fought for civil rights and she has made no excuse for being passionate about it. This week was no different.
