Has Black America finally got a taste of justice?
George Floyd has changed Black America, and the world, and Blacks want a larger taste of justice. The summer of 2020 was very instructive, when Blacks, people of color, progressives, and White people, demanded that the system could no longer execute another human being in front of the public. It was not okay for the police, whose job is to serve and protect, to kill someone with no immunity or feeling.
Historically, White police lived under a blue code of ethics, where killing Black people were part of the job, and there was a code of silence. It did not matter if the Black person was shot in the back, or the person was shot fifty times, they were doing their job. The community was expected to believe the police department was telling the truth even though many officers were corrupt.
Without a video mobile phone report, there would be five or six different stories of the event. Each week, you would get a different story, and eventually the police would not be charged with a crime. Technology has changed the world, and this young lady Darnella Frazier had the quick thinking and courage to bring truth to power.
The sentence from Judge Peter Cahill to former Minneapolis police Derek Chauvin on June 25 was 22-and –a-half years in prison. Chauvin had abused his position of trust, but this happens every day in the Black community.
Historically, in the state of Minnesota, and almost all the states in the country, a White policeperson has never been prosecuted for the killing of a Black person. The jurors convicted Chauvin on three counts, second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutors wanted Chauvin to receive 30 years, and the defense lawyer only wanted probation.
Everyone in the country has a position on the sentencing, but there appears to be a signal from the judge, that Black Lives Matter. This case was a precedent, because violence in the line of duty, many times was not pursued as a result of “qualified immunity.”
Police were unlikely to be charged, and even more unlikely to be convicted, because qualified immunity did not hold officers’ personally responsible for their action, in the line of duty. As local, state, and federal lawmakers negotiate bills to hold police more accountable, America needs more police who are willing to break the blue wall of silence.
For the first time in Minneapolis, police officers were testifying against their own, and corruption and wrong doing was being exposed. Qualified immunity is the key to the future of policing in America. It is extremely rare that a police person is charged with criminal action, but excessive force is executed every day in the Black community.
Very few Americans thought that judge Cahill would sentence Chauvin to more than 22 years, but this case impacted the country and the world. As a result of the judge, the state’s attorney and police breaking the wall of silence, millions of Americans, and millions around the world who protested can put this battle in the win column.
The struggle and fight continues, and now it is time to get the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, passed in the Senate. The Act is the first with a comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, and address systemic racism, and bias.
Black Americans received a small taste of justice, and we want a larger piece of the pie. Education, training, protesting, building coalitions, and changing or eliminating qualified immunity is a step in the right direction to save Black lives. Remember Chauvin has a federal trial with civil rights charges, where he can be given additional time.
