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N the Red
May 2021
Trial and error Some community members feel conviction of Derek Chauvin will lead to real changes in policing Katrell Readus
A
readukat000@hsestudents.org
fter the video surfaced, the world was able to watch as George Floyd, an African American man, passed away during an attempted arrest. The public witnessed Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, kneel on Floyd’s neck and back for nine minutes and 29 seconds after a store clerk accused Floyd of using a counterfeit $20 bill in a grocery store in Minneapolis. The force from Chauvin is what his prosecution claimed led to Floyd’s death. Floyd’s death sparked summer-long protests in all 50 states and several other countries. Recently, on April 20, Chauvin was convicted on three counts: seconddegree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, bringing the case back into the eyes of the media and the public. Community member and parent of a student, Amber Welch, took a deep dive into the case, and followed it as it took place. “I think the verdict was fair,’’ Welch said. ”As someone that functions in ally circles, and as someone that claims and lives to be anti-racist, not just claiming not to be racist, it’s sad because George Floyd won’t ever be alive again, he is still dead, the verdict doesn’t change that.” Welch was also able to view the incident and its outcome from the perspective of Chauvin. “From Derek Chauvin’s side, this is someone [Chauvin] whose failure to heal past his racism has cost him his entire life,” Welch said. “Had society not instilled such deep-rooted racism in him, he would have had opportunities not to be the person he is and not to potentially and ultimately take someone’s life because of it.” In her daily readings of the case, Welch says she found it necessary to look into Chauvin’s side, because she wants to hear all sides in order to limit her bias in the matter. “[This incident] didn’t just take the life of one person, it actually took the lives of more than that,” Welch said. ”I think that people don’t want to talk about that part because he is now convicted, but at the end of the day, that’s the truth: his life was ruined too because of racism.” Welch found that there were a couple of instances in the case and its court proceedings that stood out to her. “I think it was very telling that other police officers were very exacting in the fact that Chauvin’s choice, what he did, did not follow protocol,” Welch said. “The other part that stood out was that late-brought evidence related to the amount of drugs in his system was not allowed to be brought to light... that was a really contentious point that a lot of people tried to use.” The defense claimed that drugs could have caused Floyd’s death. It was proven, however, that was not the case. Dr. Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist and breathing expert said, “A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died.” “Now, I think justice still prevailed in this case, but had it
not, I think not including that evidence would have been wrong on behalf of the court,” Welch said. Many people are hopeful this case will impact the future, Welch is one of those. The world has other seen cases like this, Daniel Prude is an example of that. Prude and Floyd died less than two months apart after encounters with police officers in two different cities. Rochester police officers pinned and handcuffed Prude, to the ground for about two minutes on March 23, 2020. Prude lost oxygen to his brain and died a week later. Both moments between Black men and the white officers were captured on video, triggering an immense amount of protests. However, the court system provided vastly different outcomes with Prude’s cases. A grand jury decided not to indict the three officers who pinned Prude to the ground with a restraint that a medical examiner determined contributed to his death. “[Floyd’s case] is a small step in the right direction, as a nation we have a massive, massive way to go to change things,” Welch said. “But there is a lot that has happened in the last couple years especially that has created a bigger snowball effect that can’t continue to be ignored. The only way I feel things are truly going to change is if white people start to admit that racism is our problem to fix.” Freshman Tseganesh Gregg said that she feels the verdict given was the correct one, she also pointed out that some things brought up by the defense were strange, even with the provided context. “I don’t think there really should have been a question about it [the verdict],” Gregg said. “I felt like he [the defense attorney] knew that the case he was representing was a losing one, and he was just saying what he could to make the other side seem invalid.” Gregg finds that the rising number of cases similar to that of George Floyd’s concerning and views it as a reflection of society. “We as Americans put out this persona of being a very equal and unified country, but as a Black person that concerns me because that’s not what it feels like,” Gregg said. “Especially when it took a year to decide that someone being murdered on camera was actually murder.” Though skeptical of the amount of change that will come from it, she says the verdict is a moment to remember. “The verdict was historical because it was a monumental moment that started a surge of Black Lives Matter protest over the summer and brought people’s attention towards the topic of civil justice regarding racial discrimination,” Gregg said. Gregg believes that this case is one the public can use to see a clear picture of the policing system. “[This case] tells us that the policing system is very biased and discriminatory towards African Americans, or just people
