Beware Police Revenge For Chauvin
How Will Police Respond To The George Floyd Verdict?
At the 4 p.m. hour Central Time on April 20, 2021, the entire United States of America paused for the reading of the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.
When the verdict of Guilty of all 3 charges was announced, everyone in the country, and indeed the world knew that it was a proper verdict. Even Chauvin himself and his lawyer knew this was a just verdict, even though they did not like it. Maybe that’s why Chauvin showed no remorse when he was led away in handcuffs.
The judge is expected to hand down the sentence in about 8 weeks. Maybe a show of some remorse on the part of Chauvin might have some impact on how much of the maximum 40-year sentence he will be required to serve for 2nd-degree murder.
But now that the trial is over, the country begins to ponder a motive or frame of mind that gives rise to such a horrendous crime. Judge Cahill, like the rest of us, will want to know why did he do what he did, and is this something he would do again if given the chance?
The Spirit
Chauvin’s former boss, Chief Medaria Arradondo was abundantly clear in his testimony that Chauvin’s actions against George Floyd were not consistent with his training, were nowhere near normal practices, or in any way reflective of the values of the department. This means that the spirit in which Chauvin conducted that arrest is not shared by Minneapolis police personnel.
One of the unique features of this case is that the jury (and the world) got a chance to speculate and to some extent evaluate the attitude with which Chauvin murdered George Floyd. The defiant look on his face in that world-famous video clearly showed that he absolutely expected to suffer no consequences for his actions.
One of his thoughts must have been that uttered by a grand wizard of the KKK in the 1980s who said, “You can’t expect a white man to go to jail for killing no n — *!” (black man).
The question America must face today is this: Is the spirit that drove Chauvin to murder George Floyd in broad daylight still within the hearts of [many] police officers today?
From 3 fatal shootings of black people by police during the George Floyd murder trial, it is obvious that police approach contact incidents with citizens very differently, depending on the color or race of the subjects.
Police demonstrate repeatedly that they approach black people with an expectation to shoot while having even violent confrontations with white people with no force employed whatsoever.
The Colorado mass shooter of last month was shot in the leg and taken alive after killing 10 people. The Parkland, Florida school shooter is still awaiting trial after being arrested with a high-powered rifle he used to gun down 17 people. A 61-year-old white man dragged a police officer with his vehicle and assaulted him with a hammer. And lived to report to court.
Only black people are regarded as threats to police lives. Marilyn Mosby, a former prosecutor from the state of Maryland, a legal analyst on MSNBC refuted something said by one of Chauvin’s prosecutors.
The prosecutor in his summary said, “What Chauvin did was not policing, it was murder.” Ms. Mosby said, “NO. What Chauvin did is precisely what policing is in America today.”
We must face the truth. Chauvin thought his actions were normal and accepted practice. He expected to get away with it as evidenced by the report they initially put out. And judging from the blatant actions of his fellow officers on that scene, and the actions of many officers all over the country, he is not alone in that frame of mind.
One would think that in the context of the George Floyd murder trial, any reasonable white police officer would be a little hesitant about pulling a gun in any situation involving a person of color. That is a reasonable expectation in any location in this country.
But in the very city of Minneapolis, just 10 miles from where the trial is taking place, a white police officer fatally shot a young black man at a traffic stop. Adam Toledo, at 13 years old was shot in Chicago by an officer responding to a report of gunfire. Body-cam video confirms that the youth was not holding a gun like the officer thought when he shot him. In Ohio, minutes before the verdict was read, police showed up to a domestic incident and ended up fatally shooting a teenage young lady.
The first response from the police in the case of Adam Toledo in Chicago was to say that “the shooting was justified”. There is a similar conclusion in the case of the shooting in Columbus Ohio. The tragedy of a life lost is a secondary consideration. Their first consideration is how to justify killing another black soul.
This means that the primary goal of police operations is no longer the safety of the public they pledged to serve or the sanctity of human lives. Rather, it’s the adherence to legal maneuvers that have been long overused and abused to shield police officers from accountability for questionable and, too often deadly practices.
Why are the police so willing and eager to use deadly force against black people? Whatever happened to “No one dies today”?
We need a return to the day of the Peace Officer.
My Fears
I greatly fear that there are still too many police officers in uniform who don’t mind being regarded as one of “a few bad apples”.
(Like Chris Rock, a comedian said, “There are certain professions that cannot afford to have even one or two bad apples. Take pilots, for instance. American Airlines cannot say “Most of our pilots are safe. We just have one or two who don’t mind crashing into a mountain now and then!”)
I fear that these officers might hold the view that Chauvin was unjustly convicted. It is not fair to him that he got caught. If OJ Simpson could have got away with murder, why didn’t he?
I fear that this thinking fueled by white supremacist fears and downright racism may prompt some officers to want to exact revenge for their comrade as a response to the verdict!
There seems to be a great shift in the political landscape.
The country has resoundingly convicted a white man of the murder of a black man. First time in the state of Minnesota. A very rare occurrence in America. The likelihood of total acquittal of Chauvin’s fellow officers and others set to face trial is now in serious question.
There is talk of removing qualified immunity. Police are fixing to lose their license to kill. It looks like the end of an era.
Will these white supremacist police officers accept the new reality? Or will we in the next few days or weeks, see a spate of police killings of random black people in a vengeful attempt to get their own back?
I fear that they would feel just as justified about those killings as some Republicans feel about the Capitol insurrection.
I fear that that same spirit of racism and white supremacist fears drive actions like those of Chauvin’s.
What is the likelihood that that spirit has gone dormant among police agencies today? We know it is still present among us.
My PRAYER
I fear the worst.
Therefore I offer this prayer on behalf of this country.
“Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege of living in this great country, the United States of America, a land that you have blessed.
We ask you today to subdue the spirit of racism, hate, and revenge that has corrupted our beautiful community. Let your peace pervade the hearts of all our police officers in every precinct of this country. Help them to rid their ranks of all those who are not worthy to wear the badge.
May every officer be dedicated to public safety, become true peace officers who go to work to protect and serve, and play their part in helping to build a more perfect union. Please have mercy upon us all, including Derek Chauvin and others of us who have made bad decisions. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ your Son who taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves and leave all vengeance to you. AMEN.”