The trial of Derek Chauvin began this week and so far the testimony has been damning, riveting, heartbreaking, and already enough to put the murderous police officer in prison for the rest of his miserable murderous life.
Derek Chauvin murdered Mr. George Floyd last year by brutally kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes.
I won’t got into the detail of that horrific lynching because enough people are already traumatized by the heinous act. And I won’t got into detail because there’s a huge disgusting market that preys on Black death and Black pain.
The trial so far has had strong witnesses for the prosecution and they have laid out in startling detail what most of us saw: A white cop murder a Black man in broad daylight.
Despite most of the media referring to the trial as the “George Floyd trial” it is in fact the “Derek Chauvin trial” because he, not Mr. Floyd, is on trial.
The framing of trials with the public matter and just because it has been done one way for most of America’s history, doesn’t mean that method of acceptable poor reporting needs to continue.
Derek Chauvin’s trial is a statement about all law enforcement. Just as every Black person, immigrant, and POC is forced by the mainstream media to represent their entire community, we are flipping the script.
Law enforcement is on trial for the murder of Mr. George Floyd. How can that be, you ask?
- Because none of his peers stopped him
- Because he was allowed to leave the State after committing murder
- Because his union is supporting him
- Because his union blamed Mr. Floyd for his own murder
- Because all national police organizations support him
- Because national police training all police receive support him
The eventual conviction will mean that the jurors accepted the prosecution’s contention that a white police officer murdered a Black man in broad daylight.
This being America though means that there are nervous and anxious Black folk who expect the worst outcome because, again, this is America.
Every trial of a white cop who kills a Black person can be summarized thusly:
Step 1: Being a cop is a hard job
Step 2: Officer was scared for his life
Step 3: Black person was a really bad guy
Step 4: Officer is a great guy/parent/friend
Step 5: Officer did what he is trained to do
The five steps are proven to work on white juries and white judges because they play into America’s centuries old stereotype of Black people being dangerous and white men being heroes who protect other white people from dangerous Black people.
Black is bad white is good. White hat wearing cowboy is good, black hat wearing cowboy is bad. Slave catcher is white, enslaved person is on the loose and wild and dangerous like an animal is bad.
The trial of law enforcement, as represented by the murderer Derek Chauvin, has a long way to go before jurors get the chance to make their decision.
There will be many more witnesses, arguments, and defense attorney tactics designed to give white America the villain they want and need so that their loyalty and fealty to law enforcement can be rationalized. And if they get an acquittal that rationalization will settle back into the comfort zone of knowing the police are still on the side of and working exclusively for, white Americans.
If on the other hand, murderer Chauvin is found guilty and sentenced to prison, one would hope it would lead to changes in police recruitment, training, oversight, and accountability.
Many of the changes that are included in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, introduced by Rep. Karen Bass, passed the House 220-212, and will soon be taken up by the Senate where it is unknown if it will pass because the GQP is the party who show fealty to police unless those cops are trying to stop them from overthrowing the U.S. Government.
There’s a long way to go in government but that should not stop the jury from reaching the same conclusion as Black people who saw the video or read the description of the video: Police officer Derek Chauvin murdered Mr. George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over 9 minutes – longer than it has taken you to read this article.
© 2021 by Myron J. Clifton. All Rights Reserved.
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Dear Dean 
I know deep in my heart something good will come out of this. Watching the trial is gut wrenching. How many people feel guilt and sadness. Everyone except the murderer—Derek Chauvin.
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