A Minneapolis Cop Kills a Handcuffed African American Man on Our Streets. Who are the Bad Guys Now?
It is difficult to reconcile what is happening here in Minneapolis right now. Maybe this just reflects the brutality and the hurt that we have all been feeling collectively across the country. Not again. Not here, again. And yet, there it is in all of its glory. George Floyd, shackled, face down in a dirty street, had the life choked out of his eyes by this Minneapolis cop, Derek Chauvin, and it was all done on camera and it hit social media in an instant. The Minneapolis PD tried to deny their responsibility at first but cameras don’t lie.
In the last several days, Chauvin and three other officers have been fired. It is not enough, not even close. The Minneapolis PD is investigating, the BCA is investigating, the FBI is investigating. The Mayor has called for the officer to be arrested. That has yet to happen. It likely will. Of course, and while I understand the sentiment, due process is important. This person deserves that. We all due. Many don’t get it. George Floyd didn’t.
My fear is that many will look for the easy answer and call this just one bad apple. Remove the apple, the cancer, and we are all good. If that’s the case, why has this happened again and again and again? Is it a recruiting question, a retention question, a training questions, a callousness question? And how is this same bad apple popping up in Minneapolis, St. Paul, LA, New York, Florida and on and on and on.
People have been in the streets and there has been police tear gas and rubber bullets. There has been more violence and more death as a result. There has been rioting and buildings burned. The National Guard was called in today. So who are the bad guys now? Have we successfully shifted the blame? Gosh I hope not.
I’m appearing on media outlets all over the country trying to describe this from a criminal justice standpoint. I think about it as a former prosecutor, as a criminal defense attorney, as a human. I also live in this city. This is my home. I raised my children here. There are no easy answers. All I really know is that the pain people are feeling is real. The fear is real. The desperation is real. The anger is real. Maybe, even the hopelessness is real.
Will there honestly be systemic change this time? Honestly? Or, will there just be another whitewashing. George Floyd’s family buries their own, Chauvin goes to prison, and some say we fixed the problem. If this is all true and we wipe our hands and all go home, who are the bad guys now?