Derek Chauvin

[x2boys]

Derek Chauvin found guilty of all charges ,this is the right verdict imo,having watched the trial

[PerveenMistry]

@EmeraldShamrock

Delighted for the evil power hungry animal in uniform having watch all the evidence.
There is no excuse for their behaviour.

His trapped-rat eyes darting around were a delight to see.

[PerveenMistry]

@paralysedbyinertia

It must be a terrifying time to be a police officer in America.

Yes, indeed. It must be truly terrifying to know that they might be held accountable for their behaviour. That they can no longer unlawfully kill someone without the prospect that they might be convicted by a jury of murder. Chilling.

Exactly.

Now let's hope Killer Kim Potter goes down next.

[Whereisthewarmth]

I thought he looked strangely un emotional?
Very good day for Amercia but so sad because it should not have happened in the first place

[Roussette]

It must be a terrifying time to be a police officer in America

Bullshit

It must be terrifying to be the mother of black boys in America. To have to do 'the talk'. Again and again and again.

Don't wear your hood up
Don't put your hands in your pockets
Don't run
Always show two hands
The Police aren't necessarily there to protect you
And so on...

[Roussette]

Does anyone know what they are charged with?

Aiding and abetting
Thao, Kueng and Lane
August court date. All out on bail. All sacked I believe

Thao was awful, stood protecting Chauvin and not responding to the crowd who were pleading with him

[FOJN]

Well at the time this verdict was made a 15 year old black teen has been shot dead by police in Columbus, Ohio.
Apparently she had a knife, but 15!

It would be worth watching the slow motion video of that shooting. My first reaction was the same as yours but after seeing the slow motion video I changed my mind. There was a lot going on but even after the police arrived, the young woman who was shot pulled a knife out and put it to the throat of another young woman who was unarmed and trying to climb over a car to get away. It happened so quickly but it really looks like the young woman who was shot was about to slit the others throat. If the officer had hesitated the girl in pink would have been killed or seriously injured.

The headlines could read, "Police Officer shoots black teenager" or "Police Officer saves black teenagers life", both would be true.

[CounsellorTroi]

Now let's hope Killer Kim Potter goes down next.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56724798

This does look to have been a catastrophic error rather than an intentional shooting. It would be difficult to prove as murder as she did shout “taser taser taser”. Either way she will likely never work as a police officer again.

[OrIsTheWorldNuts]

@EdgeOfACoin

It's a disgrace. White people STORMED the capital with GUNS and all were arrested peacefully. None murdered or killed.

This isn't true. Ashli Babbitt was shot dead and the police officer responsible was cleared of her murder.

I in no way condone Babbitt's actions, and I make no comment on her death, but it is not true to say that no one was shot dead by the police at the Capitol riots.

I agree that had the rioters been black, there almost certainly would have been a lot more shootings.

Ashli Babbitt basically breached the last vestiges of security (where the members of the House were hiding and protected) climbing through a barricaded door and the officer had no other option but to shoot to defend the post. Before then, they were shouting warnings to not enter or they'll shoot and for her to stand back. No, he didn't get charged because he was doing his job - they were practically terrorists.

Had the rioters been Black, they would have been shot, not at the last defence entrance but right in front of the capitol building first entrance while trying to barge their way in.

Some headlines have mentioned she's a US veteran (which she is) but had it been a Black person who was killed, past crimes (if any) or any perception of wrong doing would have been the main label as headlines.

[MrsMackesy]

@paralysedbyinertia

It is good to see that the other three police officers will shortly go on trial.

Yes, indeed. Does anyone know what they are charged with?

They were fired and arrested. Trial on Aug 23. Charges - aiding and abetting second degree murder/manslaughter.

[Hoppinggreen]

@SunIsComing

Maybe not walking around with knives would help.

What would this help exactly? Would it stop black men and boys being assaulted and even killed by Police officers in America?
Stupid comment

[slashlover]

Last Week Tonight did a good show about everything (10 months ago)

4 years ago

6 years ago (police malitarisation)

[ThePriceIsNotRight]

Biden made comments when the jury was already sequestered, thus could not be accused of having influenced them.

The correct verdict. He explicitly disregarded protocol and committed murder. He just thought he would be protected by his fellow cops. George Floyd was restrained and no threat to him.

Furthermore cops do not have the authority to carry out extra judicial executions.

[MrsMackesy]

Aiding and abetting second-degree murder carries a sentence of up to 40 years.

[Pyewackect]

I worked in the US on various medical contracts and I helped tread law enforcement Officers for gunshot wounds, stab injuries or severe trauma to the head on just about every shift. The last one had only been a state trooper for a year and was found dead by the roadside. They caught the kid who shot him. He was 17 and said there was no-way he was speeding. That Officer was married with two small children. That got 80 seconds on the evening news.

[paralysedbyinertia]

@Roussette and @MrsMackesy, thank you. Let's hope that justice is served in those cases also. Chauvin did not act alone.

[TheGlassBlowersDaughter]

@MrsMackesy

The feeling in our white household went deep when the verdicts came in. How depressing - but sadly not surprising - that 23 voters or 10% at this point think the OP is BU. The verdicts feel monumental but there is still much work to be done.

But you don't know what they were voting on. Some people like clearly worded AIBUs. Some people don't like important political and justice matters reduced to an AIBU bunfight. Some people vote YABU because they think there are already other threads so OP is UR to start another one rather than contributing to one that already exists.

The verdict was correct. Every profession that involves or includes a degree of legalised violence will attract psychopaths. The US needs to get much better at identifying them and weeding them out. Chauvin had a complaint for nearly every year he was on the force. That's where the system falls down. It's not about training. You can't train a murderer to have empathy. You need a robust system to identify and imprison them. Ideally when they first exhibit signs of violence and excessive force - not after they've killed someone.

I hope that the public comments made by Democrats before the jury was sequestered don't provide grounds for appeal and that Biden's comment before the verdict was returned doesn't cause difficulties for the trial of the other 3 officers. They should have waited to comment. Pre-empting the verdict didn't benefit anyone and could have hindered what happens next.

[Pleasure]

George Floyd's murder was a tragedy, I'm sure no one disputes that. However, it seems that he's being made out to be a saint when he wasn't, he was a habitual criminal. I hope that his family can find peace.

[MissSM9102]

Can anyone point me to George Floyd being made out to be a saint?
I keep seeing this nonsense to justify his murder, like the whole pregnant woman story - unconfirmed.
At the end of the day George Floyd could be a paragon of virtue and still people would find a way to blame him for his own murder. It’s disgusting.

[Roussette]

There will undoubtedly be appeals. But I don't think it will be anything to do with Biden speaking whilst the jury was sequestered, but I read somewhere that it will be because the Defence was inept so he didn't have a fair trial.

I watched the trial, the Defence lawyer threw everything he could possibly throw... at it. But when you have 5 senior people from his police force, include the Chief of Police, testifying for the prosecution, that means to me, it was the right verdict.

And one of the experts the Defence called was particularly unpleasant and objectionable (to me) A medical examiner who resigned after his role in the autopsy of another black man killed by the police, and he is being sued for his role in this.
Very very similar circumstances, three white police officers and one black 17 year old who died at their hands. This 'expert' says he died because of bipolar disorder and heart problems.

[MissSM9102]

Going back to posts blaming Sheku Bayoh for his death, PC Alan Paton was a known racist with many reports of violent assaults, including against his own parents. PC Nicole Short was under investigation for providing information to her drug dealer boyfriend.
They had no business walking the streets of Kirkcaldy in a uniform.
What was Sheku’s criminal background like? Oh yeah, non existent!

[TustedFormula]

Then don't be one.

We have far too many cops here in the US as it is. They disgust me.

Ok, yes you're right. The answer is not to have police officers.

[DumplingsAndStew]

@Pleasure

George Floyd's murder was a tragedy, I'm sure no one disputes that. However, it seems that he's being made out to be a saint when he wasn't, he was a habitual criminal. I hope that his family can find peace.

It wasn't a tragedy, it was murder.

Do you think using a potentially counterfeit note should come with a death sentence?

Even a death sentence in the US is given more humanely than the brutal and undignified murder of George Floyd.

[paralysedbyinertia]

Every profession that involves or includes a degree of legalised violence will attract psychopaths. The US needs to get much better at identifying them and weeding them out. Chauvin had a complaint for nearly every year he was on the force. That's where the system falls down. It's not about training. You can't train a murderer to have empathy. You need a robust system to identify and imprison them. Ideally when they first exhibit signs of violence and excessive force - not after they've killed someone.

I do agree with all of this. I don't think better training would have prevented DC from murdering George Floyd. However, I do wonder if better training might have resulted in a different response from the other officers who aided and abetted Chauvin. I'm not convinced that they were all psychopaths, but they allowed George Floyd to be killed right in front of them. Is it possible that better training might have encouraged at least one of them to act differently?

[paralysedbyinertia]

@Pleasure

George Floyd's murder was a tragedy, I'm sure no one disputes that. However, it seems that he's being made out to be a saint when he wasn't, he was a habitual criminal. I hope that his family can find peace.

George Floyd's character is utterly irrelevant. He is not being made out to be a saint by anyone, as far as I can see, but even if he was, it wouldn't matter. He was not on trial. He was the victim in this case.

[MrsMackesy]

[quote paralysedbyinertia]**@Roussette* and @MrsMackesy*, thank you. Let's hope that justice is served in those cases also. Chauvin did not act alone.[/quote]
Thinking about this, initially I had a small amount of understanding for the position of Lane who reportedly had been in the job for a matter of days and Kueng for a matter of months, both deferring to the judgement of an older, more experienced officer. Thao had been in the job since 2012. However Kueng and Lane were directly involved with Chauvin in restraining Mr Floyd and allegedly did not change their positions from his back and legs after he became unresponsive, Kueng checked and said he could not find a pulse. Lane had reportedly earlier suggested turning Mr Floyd onto his side, but accepted Chauvin's explanation about why Mr Floyd was to be kept on his front. Thao was reportedly not in physical contact with Mr Floyd but standing directly between the officers and the highly concerned bystanders, with a clear view of what was being done to Mr Floyd. I couldn't keep hold of that very small amount of understanding. They all heard Mr Floyd saying he could not breathe and saw the passage of over 9 minutes with their colleague's knee on his neck. The bystanders did more to try to intervene and save Mr Floyd than those 3 officers did, putting themselves at risk from the - armed - officers in the process and one even calling 911. Source: Reuters and Minnesota prosecutors' allegations.