MEMPHIS, Tennessee — It doesn’t happen often, but in journalism and in a court of law, sometimes there are not two sides to every story, at least not two believable sides. One of those times was yesterday in a Minneapolis courtroom – when former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd on Memorial Day in 2020. The reason there are not two sides to this case is because America and the world saw for themselves what happened. Floyd, who was unarmed, was handcuffed from behind and held face down on the pavement by three officers. But it was Chauvin who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, more than long enough to shut off Floyd’s breathing, block his blood flow, and cause his death.
The claims by Chauvin’s defense lawyer blaming Floyd’s death on illicit drug use, health problems – even the unruly crowd of bystanders – were absurd, and the jury didn’t buy it for a second. Chauvin is now locked up – awaiting sentencing for what should be a lengthy prison term. Now it is up to policymakers and police officials – in Memphis and across the nation – to institute systemic change to policing. We must demand better training – not just on tactics – but to also guard against implicit and explicit racial bias. Which means this is not the end of the long road toward racial justice; it’s the beginning.
And that’s my point of view. I’m Otis Sanford, for Local 24 News.
