 George Floyd's death it catalyzed a global movement against police brutality and for black lives and You know for the first time you can really see that this opened the eyes of a lot of White Americans who for the first time were finally getting to see firsthand what black and brown communities have been saying about the police For decades. I mean police were shameless and brazen using chemical weapons against peaceful protesters Left and right in numerous viral videos. They were pepper spraying soccer moms and all of this is Going to open their eyes. It's gonna leave a lasting mark on them but now that the case that catalyzed that movement has Seemingly come to an end at least as far as Derek Chauvin is concerned since he's gonna be Going to prison. I don't want those folks who were awakened to Think that this is the end of it Because what happened to George Floyd and the conviction of Derek Chauvin? this is actually an anomaly and The fact that there's justice in this case in this instance doesn't necessarily mean that It was a victory everyone in the streets Who marched for the first time? This isn't actually the victory and we may want a victory We might feel like this is a victory but in actuality It's not a victory and until black Americans are no longer killed by the police until the police officers who actually Who kill black and brown people are held accountable until this system is dismantled The fight has to continue and I want to read an article from the huff post Which really does a phenomenal job at explaining why it's the case that this Derek Chauvin conviction really is an exception to the rule it truly is an An anomaly so Jessica Schullberg explains the fact that Chauvin was arrested and charged was itself unusual Each year police shooting killed roughly 1,000 people according to the Washington Post Which has been tracking fatal shootings by on-duty police officers since 2015 but between the beginning of 2005 and June of 2019 just 104 non-federal law enforcement officers have been arrested on murder or manslaughter charges related to an on-duty shooting Researchers at Bowling Green State University found and of those 104 officers who were arrested only 35 were convicted of a crime 15 pleaded guilty and 20 were convicted by a jury Chauvin's conviction therefore was an anomaly even when police officers are convicted of killing it is rarely on murder charges Instead 31 of those 35 convictions were for lesser charges including manslaughter negligent homicide and reckless discharge of a firearm Those charges generally carry more lenient sentences than a murder conviction Racism is a key reason why in America police officers rarely face criminal punishment when they take another person's life Black people are more than twice as likely as white people to be killed by the police and white jurors may empathize less with the black Victim and although public trust in the police is at its lowest point in decades There are still plenty of Americans who are inclined to trust a law enforcement officers narrative And if put on a jury would be reluctant to convict a cop Even jurors who aren't enthusiastically pro law enforcement may vote not to convict because of a cop's broad legal authority to kill In the 1980s the supreme court established that police officers are allowed to use deadly force if they believe their life or the lives of others are in danger Even if evidence shows that there was never any threat Timothy Lohman the police officer who in 2014 shot and killed 12 year old Tamir Rice Had reason to fear for his life prosecutor Timothy McGinty claimed at the time after a grand jury decided against indictment It would have been unreasonable to expect the police officer to wait and see if the young boy's toy gun was real McGinty said So I really want folks To understand that there were very unique circumstances In the Derek Chauvin case That really it sets it apart from other cases So usually the defense as was stated in that article that police officers use is They had to discharge a deadly firearm because they feared for their life Or the lives of others But you can't you can't really make that argument And convince people if you have your knee On a man's neck for nine minutes You just can't do it So what the defense had to rely on in the case of Derek Chauvin was uh this idea that it wasn't necessarily the knee on George Floyd's neck That killed him rather it was other things possibly a substance But of course, that's that's not persuasive. We all saw the video I don't think that you even have to argue In court that the knee on his neck Was what killed him. I think that's pretty obvious, right? But I mean we have due process and the rule of law But I mean that's the reason why Derek Chauvin couldn't use the general argument of I think that my life Might have been uh in jeopardy Which is why I had to kill that person because this was a very different case So understand that because there was justice in this case doesn't necessarily mean That there will be justice going forward This isn't going to be A moment where the floodgates open And more and more cops go to jail For killing black and brown americans. That's that's not what's going to happen. Unfortunately The way we get that to happen Is we have to dismantle the current system Reimagine policing in america And this is why regardless of how you want to phrase it defunding the police Is what you have to do you can call it whatever you want to call it reallocating resources away from the police But what we have to do is reimagine policing in america rather than responding To all issues in society with the one-size-fits-all approach and just throwing police at it Maybe instead of calling the police We call a social worker To deal with someone who's suffering from mental illness Maybe we uh call people who specialize in child psychology to deal With children or being violent It doesn't have to be police That you throw at every single situation. I mean policing in america has led to us becoming a police state Jailing more folks per capita than any other Major country when you treat the issue of homelessness as a criminal issue when you treat drug use and sex work as criminal issues We're going to create a situation in society where we do have a police state where police officers Do basically rule over you know a population that is subordinate to them And that's not the way that this is supposed to be in an ideal world. The police are supposed to protect society Right, there's their public servants But that's not what's happening. If you look at some of these cities, it's like they're in occupying military So It's not like this case, you know, the justice wasn't good. It's not like we shouldn't celebrate that That's not what I want the takeaway to be But what I am saying is that if you're new to this if your eyes were just opened up Then now is where we keep pressing further You don't stop You don't use this as evidence To call it quits you keep going and acknowledge how rare This conviction is because usually This does not happen and there's a reason why lots of folks myself included We're very anxious and uh, we're worried about the verdict because even if there was a video of what happened That doesn't necessarily mean That it's going to lead to a conviction because we've seen time and again that that's not enough. That's not enough For reasons laid out in this article, but I just want folks to understand This is the beginning and this is why some folks Don't feel like this really is a victor. I mean it is a victory There's justice for george floyd and his family, but he still doesn't get his life back and the true victory will be Changing the system so a life is never taken again where we don't have to beg For justice for the victim of police brutality In the first place