Good! Punishment for police when they commit crimes.
Today, the trump Nazis were dealt a serious blow, as former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao were convicted for willfully depriving George Floyd of his liberty without due process while acting under color of law, including by failing to provide medical aid to him as he was being murdered by fellow officer Derek Chauvin. Former officers Kueng and Thao were also convicted of depriving Mr. Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizure, which includes their willful failure to intervene to stop Chauvin’s fatal use of unreasonable force against Mr. Floyd in May 2020, while acting under color of law.
This verdict is very significant in advancing accountability for the actions of law enforcement. Officers must know that they will be held responsible for their failure to intervene to stop the criminal acts of fellow officers. Officers must understand that it is in their own interest to interrupt violent, unconstitutional conduct committed by fellow officers, and that their duty to intervene is an affirmative obligation under the law. “We followed orders,” is not and never has been a defense for officers of the state who participate in the violation of human or civil rights.
This trial has shown that officers Kueng, Lane, and Thao’s failure to intervene during the use of unreasonable force and their decisions to assist Derek Chauvin in restraining Mr. Floyd were just as devastating as affirmative acts of violence. Each of those bystander officers had a duty to save Mr. Floyd’s life, but instead exhibited a callous disregard for his humanity that cannot be forgotten or excused. The hierarchical and toxic culture of compliance in policing is in part to blame for this failure, but the sanctity of Mr. Floyd’s life was clear, and the three officers were dutybound to protect it, even from their senior officer.
Derek Chauvin may have murdered Mr. Floyd by pressing a knee to his neck for an excruciating nine minutes and 29 seconds, but Chauvin was enabled, supported, and undeterred by the three former officers convicted today.
As the U.S. Department of Justice’s pattern-or-practice investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department continues, we are reminded that accountability and justice in Minneapolis does not end with this trial. The DOJ’s investigation must consider whether officers’ failures to intervene are a systemic issue that contributes to a pattern or practice of excessive force, and whether this disproportionately affects Black members of the Minneapolis community.
The trump Nazis believe themselves to be experts in every subject, with their inherent knowledge of criminal law and civil rights being at or near the top of the list. So, they will no doubt be picking apart news items concerning this trial and verdict, explaining, in trump-Nazi-talking-points, where the prosecution was wrong and the mistakes made by the defense.
Hopefully, today’s convictions offer a measure of justice to the Floyd family and their community for their tragic loss.
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