On George Floyd’s Death and Recall Petitions, Justice & Drew 5.27.20

On George Floyd’s Death and Recall Petitions, Justice & Drew 5.27.20

On Wednesday May 27, 2020, I answered the call of Justice & Drew’s “bat signal” to discuss what criminal charges might be in store for the four Minneapolis Police officers responsible for the murder of George Floyd which was caught on video and has outraged the entire nation. You can listen to our discussion here.

It is extremely difficult to watch the video of the MPD officer with his knee (and his full body weight) bearing down upon George Floyd’s neck as he lies helpless on the ground, handcuffed, pleading with the officer and saying repeatedly “I can’t breathe.” After watching the video, it is hard not to see these officers charged with (and ultimately convicted of) third degree murder and/or second degree manslaughter.

I will admit that I struggle with the issues in our law enforcement community. I am friends with some very good officers, but on the other hand, for the past decade plus I have lived next door to an individual employed by the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office who I do not doubt for one minute would relish the opportunity to mistreat another human being the way that Mr. Floyd was mistreated while in MPD custody.

UPDATE: per the latest news reports, Derek Chauvin, the officer who was seen kneeling on George Floyd’s neck before he died was involved in three police shootings during his 19 years on the job — and has been the subject of ten conduct complaints that resulted in no disciplinary action, according to reports. As I’ve discussed in prior posts and podcasts dealing with what I know to be my neighbor’s bad behavior, when misconduct goes unpunished, the lack of punishment implicitly sanctions the bad behavior.

Towards the end of the interview, I had this to say about the prospect of Federal charges against the officers involved:

Hours later, President Trump announced that he had ordered the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI to investigate George Floyd’s murder, promising that “justice will be served.”

We closed out with a brief discussion of the recall petition recently filed against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the challenges it faces in light of the need for it to be blessed by the Minnesota Supreme Court (which currently has a 5-2 majority appointed by Governors Mark Dayton and Tim Walz).

FURTHER UPDATE: I answered the call of the bat signal the following day for continued discussion of the George Floyd matter. Click here to listen.

To listen to my past appearances on Justice & Drew, please visit the show’s page on my site.