Guilty. On all charges. A surprise? It shouldn't have been. We all saw the video of a murder taking place before our eyes. The jury, a multiracial assemblage of Derek Chauvin's peers, saw the same thing. And it didn’t take long for them to come to that conclusion.
I agree that Guilty should have been a foregone conclusion...I saw an article regarding the issue of police liability, saying police should not be liable, that they don't get paid that well -hmmm...should not police, who literally hold lives in their hands daily, be highly trained AND highly paid? And, in this day and age, why do we not have more non lethal ways to deal with those resisting arrest, when arrest is justified?
It worked because prosecution first and foremost carefully had police authorities able to tell the jury the specific actions were invalid and illegal. Like prosecuting criminals generally.
But how many of us, having listened to the coroner, ate more healthily and exercised - at least for a little while?! The over simplification that Floyd's health or drugs had nothing to do with the death is just simplistically false - according to the testimony of coroner. Still guilty, still murder - because his illegal action set those anatomy, health and drug effects into effect.
I now wonder how blocked my coronary arteries are! But am glad my older brothers are now much too old to still have any interest in wrestling and pinning me to the floor.
More and more on other sources about how difficult it is to move on these kinds of charges as there are no acceptable minimal standards on even a statewide basis. 18000 police departments and little control on how the deal with force or on their training methods. This brings to mind our constant tensions in this country over individual rights and aggregate rights. What kinds of rights must be abridged in order to protect all of the body politic? There are things like speed limits that can be highly differential from place to place, but generally posted so a driver has a reasonable chance to obey. Opening or closing hours can reasonably be local as most users are local and have ready access to the information. Then we run into things like international treaties, pandemic controls, gun ownership, interstate commerce, etc. that in a sense can cross all borders invisibly and are either difficult or impossible to control without some consistent agreement among the impacted entities. Racism and other social issues all seem to cry out for some kind of floor value statement that must be adhered to by all if there is to be any sense of country and commitment to it. A federal commission to put forward some minimal ground rules on what kinds of restraints are to be used in what kind of situations and what kinds of training is to be conducted for all police professional would seem to be one small way to start trying to impact this explosion of violence before it is being used as a solution to all kinds of problems. There also needs somehow to be more community attention paid to conflict resolution without resort to physical means. Now I begin to laugh at myself as I try to figure out how to reduce road rage and the temptation to tee off indiscriminately on social media while we remain protected in our internet bubble. Let's add another unit to the plate of teachers who are like police expected to handle everything that comes through the door of their classroom from AR 15's to family abuse, and the kid who arrives without lunch money or a coat on a snowy winter day. I wish us all a lot of luck because we are going to need some. Thanks Dan
Finally, guilty, I can’t believe that it took this long, when I saw that video, I knew that police officer was guilty.I am happy the jury reached the same conclusion.
A ray of sunshine at last! After watching the MPD misbehave and murder for decades, a little ray of sunshine. I was honestly unsure, although guilt was so obvious, that the right thing would happen. When it did I felt relief, gratitude and pride in the people of my state and nation for nudging and pushing and praying us through to doing the right thing. I feel like I've been holding my breath for weeks. Now please lawmakers, do your part for a change. Make the law a better and fairer place from which to operate.. Now please people, don't take this as an end, but as a means to make this a better and fairer place to live. I feel more positive than I have for a long time, but also see the need to keep on keeping on. Love & Peace!
I agree that we need good officers lauded and bad officers punished, but we need more than that. We need good officers who will intervene when they see fellow officers doing bad things. For too long the blue wall has held. At last with Chauvin, the blue wall has started to crack. Let’s hope it disintegrates.
I have been having discussions recently with friends and family about how sad I am at seeing what is happening in this country today. The mass shootings and incredibly hostile incidents of the police. Almost worse is the depressing and sad inaction, uncaring and totally unreal attitudes of some in Congress.It occurs to me how glad I am to have lived when I have. ( born in 1947) The Chauvin trial was hard to watch but amazing and hopeful to see the brave witnesses and police officers tell it exactly as it was. We all watched. I had no faith the verdict would be guilty and I knew if it wasn’t this country would blow up worse than anything we saw in the 60’s! Thankfully those 12 people understood and knew the only verdict possible! Let us hope this is the beginning of a long healing. Somehow I doubt it. Thank you Dan for helping me stay steady.
So much work needs to be done in hiring and training of police in the United States. The fact that there are consistent gun shootings demonstrates a complete lack of training. Police should be trained to not draw weapon unless their life is in danger. Shooting people for warrant violations or misdemeanor traffic stops is ludicrous.
Quoting my cousin from his FB page this morning, "If 38 witnesses and video footage from several sources and angles is what it takes to get a single conviction of a cop doing wrong, "justice" for anyone else is going to be nearly impossible."
Why is it a surprise that Chauvin was convicted of all three (3) counts, with such overwhelming evidence? Perhaps because of all of the injustices against "diminished" peoples and people of color. While there is so much positivity from the murder of Mr. George Floyd, such as the statements of the police chief and officers, the efforts of those watching this murder happen, the worldwide attempts to change policing, and the new woke attitude of some, there is still the prejudice and "old-boy attitudes" that just aren't going to change. It has been 158 years since Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and this is all the further we have come. Maybe that is why I am surprised. 😞
Chauvin’s conviction was right and just, but it did come as a surprise for me. I expected he would, at most, be convicted of the lesser of the three charges. My greatest fear was that he would not be convicted at all – that happens way too often.
In this case, eyewitness accounts and captured video coupled with a vigorous and well-designed prosecution got the job done. I suspect there are far too many similar instances in America today without such compelling evidence.
I believe that we have taken one small step but not necessarily turned a page. We will need more trials and convictions (where conviction is warranted) if we are to continue to move forward.
I will also say this (shoot me if you must): There is some danger in the emerging tendency of Americans to paint police with too broad a brush. Not all are racist, not all are bad guys dressed in blue looking for a target, and not all killings result from racism. Nor are all unjustified.
Some police are good people trying to serve their community. Often with too little information and too little time. Some killings cannot be avoided; they are justified. Remember, police training authorizes deadly force when they perceive a threat to their life or the lives of others. Too often, that perception is arrived at in fractions of a second.
Are there too many police shootings? Absolutely. It’s true; black people are unnecessarily killed in more significant numbers (as a percentage of the population) than whites. But I believe the use of deadly force is too common across the board.
People of all colors are shot when shooting is not a necessary or reasonable response. I don’t know how to fix that. Does anyone?
Yes, convictions are a good start. Addressing the militarized warrior mentality that is all too common in America’s police forces should be looked at as well. The first response should not be to pull your weapon. That should not happen unless and until there is no other option.
Peaceful protests are enormously helpful. They won’t be if we protest every single shooting regardless of the circumstances; if we raise our hands into the air and scream into the wind before we have all the data. We cannot assume every police shooting is because of a bad actor any more than we can presume every black, white, Asian, Latinx killed by police is an innocent person shot in hatred.
I DO believe that sometimes protests need to be loud, aggressive, and (sometimes) forceful to get the attention they deserve. I hate to say it (and can't believe I am), but sometimes you need to flip a car, punch a white supremacist (or a cop) if you want to wake people up to your pain.
I agree that Guilty should have been a foregone conclusion...I saw an article regarding the issue of police liability, saying police should not be liable, that they don't get paid that well -hmmm...should not police, who literally hold lives in their hands daily, be highly trained AND highly paid? And, in this day and age, why do we not have more non lethal ways to deal with those resisting arrest, when arrest is justified?
So very well said. Thank you.
It worked because prosecution first and foremost carefully had police authorities able to tell the jury the specific actions were invalid and illegal. Like prosecuting criminals generally.
But how many of us, having listened to the coroner, ate more healthily and exercised - at least for a little while?! The over simplification that Floyd's health or drugs had nothing to do with the death is just simplistically false - according to the testimony of coroner. Still guilty, still murder - because his illegal action set those anatomy, health and drug effects into effect.
I now wonder how blocked my coronary arteries are! But am glad my older brothers are now much too old to still have any interest in wrestling and pinning me to the floor.
More and more on other sources about how difficult it is to move on these kinds of charges as there are no acceptable minimal standards on even a statewide basis. 18000 police departments and little control on how the deal with force or on their training methods. This brings to mind our constant tensions in this country over individual rights and aggregate rights. What kinds of rights must be abridged in order to protect all of the body politic? There are things like speed limits that can be highly differential from place to place, but generally posted so a driver has a reasonable chance to obey. Opening or closing hours can reasonably be local as most users are local and have ready access to the information. Then we run into things like international treaties, pandemic controls, gun ownership, interstate commerce, etc. that in a sense can cross all borders invisibly and are either difficult or impossible to control without some consistent agreement among the impacted entities. Racism and other social issues all seem to cry out for some kind of floor value statement that must be adhered to by all if there is to be any sense of country and commitment to it. A federal commission to put forward some minimal ground rules on what kinds of restraints are to be used in what kind of situations and what kinds of training is to be conducted for all police professional would seem to be one small way to start trying to impact this explosion of violence before it is being used as a solution to all kinds of problems. There also needs somehow to be more community attention paid to conflict resolution without resort to physical means. Now I begin to laugh at myself as I try to figure out how to reduce road rage and the temptation to tee off indiscriminately on social media while we remain protected in our internet bubble. Let's add another unit to the plate of teachers who are like police expected to handle everything that comes through the door of their classroom from AR 15's to family abuse, and the kid who arrives without lunch money or a coat on a snowy winter day. I wish us all a lot of luck because we are going to need some. Thanks Dan
As his small daughter said i front of the media - “Daddy changed the World”
Finally, guilty, I can’t believe that it took this long, when I saw that video, I knew that police officer was guilty.I am happy the jury reached the same conclusion.
A ray of sunshine at last! After watching the MPD misbehave and murder for decades, a little ray of sunshine. I was honestly unsure, although guilt was so obvious, that the right thing would happen. When it did I felt relief, gratitude and pride in the people of my state and nation for nudging and pushing and praying us through to doing the right thing. I feel like I've been holding my breath for weeks. Now please lawmakers, do your part for a change. Make the law a better and fairer place from which to operate.. Now please people, don't take this as an end, but as a means to make this a better and fairer place to live. I feel more positive than I have for a long time, but also see the need to keep on keeping on. Love & Peace!
I agree that we need good officers lauded and bad officers punished, but we need more than that. We need good officers who will intervene when they see fellow officers doing bad things. For too long the blue wall has held. At last with Chauvin, the blue wall has started to crack. Let’s hope it disintegrates.
I have been having discussions recently with friends and family about how sad I am at seeing what is happening in this country today. The mass shootings and incredibly hostile incidents of the police. Almost worse is the depressing and sad inaction, uncaring and totally unreal attitudes of some in Congress.It occurs to me how glad I am to have lived when I have. ( born in 1947) The Chauvin trial was hard to watch but amazing and hopeful to see the brave witnesses and police officers tell it exactly as it was. We all watched. I had no faith the verdict would be guilty and I knew if it wasn’t this country would blow up worse than anything we saw in the 60’s! Thankfully those 12 people understood and knew the only verdict possible! Let us hope this is the beginning of a long healing. Somehow I doubt it. Thank you Dan for helping me stay steady.
Well written Sir, thank you.
Well said
So much work needs to be done in hiring and training of police in the United States. The fact that there are consistent gun shootings demonstrates a complete lack of training. Police should be trained to not draw weapon unless their life is in danger. Shooting people for warrant violations or misdemeanor traffic stops is ludicrous.
This is the outcome I was hoping for but not expecting.
Quoting my cousin from his FB page this morning, "If 38 witnesses and video footage from several sources and angles is what it takes to get a single conviction of a cop doing wrong, "justice" for anyone else is going to be nearly impossible."
Why is it a surprise that Chauvin was convicted of all three (3) counts, with such overwhelming evidence? Perhaps because of all of the injustices against "diminished" peoples and people of color. While there is so much positivity from the murder of Mr. George Floyd, such as the statements of the police chief and officers, the efforts of those watching this murder happen, the worldwide attempts to change policing, and the new woke attitude of some, there is still the prejudice and "old-boy attitudes" that just aren't going to change. It has been 158 years since Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and this is all the further we have come. Maybe that is why I am surprised. 😞
Chauvin’s conviction was right and just, but it did come as a surprise for me. I expected he would, at most, be convicted of the lesser of the three charges. My greatest fear was that he would not be convicted at all – that happens way too often.
In this case, eyewitness accounts and captured video coupled with a vigorous and well-designed prosecution got the job done. I suspect there are far too many similar instances in America today without such compelling evidence.
I believe that we have taken one small step but not necessarily turned a page. We will need more trials and convictions (where conviction is warranted) if we are to continue to move forward.
I will also say this (shoot me if you must): There is some danger in the emerging tendency of Americans to paint police with too broad a brush. Not all are racist, not all are bad guys dressed in blue looking for a target, and not all killings result from racism. Nor are all unjustified.
Some police are good people trying to serve their community. Often with too little information and too little time. Some killings cannot be avoided; they are justified. Remember, police training authorizes deadly force when they perceive a threat to their life or the lives of others. Too often, that perception is arrived at in fractions of a second.
Are there too many police shootings? Absolutely. It’s true; black people are unnecessarily killed in more significant numbers (as a percentage of the population) than whites. But I believe the use of deadly force is too common across the board.
People of all colors are shot when shooting is not a necessary or reasonable response. I don’t know how to fix that. Does anyone?
Yes, convictions are a good start. Addressing the militarized warrior mentality that is all too common in America’s police forces should be looked at as well. The first response should not be to pull your weapon. That should not happen unless and until there is no other option.
Peaceful protests are enormously helpful. They won’t be if we protest every single shooting regardless of the circumstances; if we raise our hands into the air and scream into the wind before we have all the data. We cannot assume every police shooting is because of a bad actor any more than we can presume every black, white, Asian, Latinx killed by police is an innocent person shot in hatred.
I DO believe that sometimes protests need to be loud, aggressive, and (sometimes) forceful to get the attention they deserve. I hate to say it (and can't believe I am), but sometimes you need to flip a car, punch a white supremacist (or a cop) if you want to wake people up to your pain.