A series of protests erupted all over the United States due to the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American by Derek Chauvin, by a white police officer. Thousands of Americans protested against the highly prevalent ‘white privilege’ and ‘police brutality’ for the past few days, and it seems like justice is finally being served to George Floyd, as the authorities have decided to punish the other three officers involved in his death as well.
Keith Ellison, the Attorney General of Minneapolis, stated that current evidence calls for a stronger charge on Derek Chauvin, and the other three officers are also arrested and faced with charges. Ellison requested from the public to remain patient while thorough investigations are carried out and stronger evidence is collected. However, he also stated that winning a conviction “will be difficult.”
Watch Keith Ellison’s Speech Below
Ellison admitted that it’s a challenge to get a guilty verdict for cops, and cited that Hennepin Co. Attorney Mike Freeman is the only lawyer in Minnesota to convict a cop of a murder. He also invited anyone who has information about the murder to come forward and that he will not rush the case to trial, and stated that it’s essential to collect strong evidence before going to court.
Chauvin is now facing a second-degree murder charge. The other three officers that stood by him: Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Interestingly, Chauvin’s charge is said to be “unintentional while committing a felony” by the complaint, which means that he’s getting charged for using excessive force on Floyd which ultimately lead to his death. Due to the upgrade of Chauvin’s charges, he will now serve a 40-years prison sentence, which is the maximum penalty for a second-degree murder.
The importance of charging the three officers who blindly stood by Chauvin during the assault is that; the next time a cop crosses the line, the fellow cops will take action other than just observing and doing nothing. These three cops will also serve a 40-years prison sentence each.
Attorney Lee Merritt, who represents the Floyd family along with Ben Crump, stated that the reason for trying so hard for the cops involved in Floyd’s death to be held accountable for their violent actions, is to encourage all police officers to be a part of the solution for police brutality, and to get their contribution to put a full-stop for the unfair treatments faced by Black Americans. Lee stated that these protests will be a major step for changing a corrupted system, and emphasized that cops should have the guts to oppose and correct bad cops, in order to become good cops.
Watch What Lee Merritt Had To Say In The Video Below
Below Video Shows The Brutal Murder Of George Floyd
Ben Crump stated that the upgrade of Chauvin’s charges was a “bittersweet moment” to the Floyd family. He further added: “This is a significant step forward on the road to justice.”
An independent autopsy carried out upon the request of Floyd’s family revealed that the cause of his death is asphyxia caused by neck and back compression.
Reading, creative writing, poetry writing, and language learning have been my passions since I was young. I have won many Japanese and Chinese language competitions, and many national-level creative writing, art & oratory competitions too. I am still schooling, and passed my O/Levels with distinction passes for English Literature, Japanese, and English. I have also completed my Certificate of Human Resource Management.
