Not Just One Bad Apple

Illustration by Carolyn Burt | The Corsair

As I write this Letter from the Editor, news has just broken of the verdict for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Chauvin has been found guilty on all three counts — second-degree and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter. 

This is the news I hoped for, but in the days leading up to the verdict, I couldn’t help but prepare myself for a different outcome. It feels almost unheard of for police officers who have committed crimes to be brought to justice.

It’s a relief that Chauvin was held accountable for his actions in court, but it doesn’t feel like a cause for celebration. An innocent man was still murdered. There are still 8 weeks before we know the judge’s sentence, and while we can figure out what the maximum sentence might be, there is no minimum requirement. 

Derek Chauvin isn’t just one bad apple in the law enforcement system. Just this very month, Daunte Wright was fatally shot by police officer Kimberly Ann Potter, claiming to mistake her taser for her gun. Two months before George Floyd was murdered, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her own home by police after they forced entry into her apartment.

After the verdict for Derek Chauvin was announced, my eyes stayed glued to the TV, watching George Floyd’s family speak on the jury’s decision. While some say justice has been served, a police officer going to jail for murdering an innocent man does not feel like justice. This does not take away their pain George Floyd’s family feels over the loss of their loved one.

My mind is full of what ifs. What if Darnella Frazier hadn’t filmed Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd? What if the pandemic hadn’t been going on, causing millions of Americans to be constantly on their phones, regularly checking their social media? What if the video hadn’t gone viral? What if the American people hadn’t taken to the streets in outrage? What if the protests hadn’t brought worldwide attention to the pattern of ongoing police brutality in our nation?

The original police report from George Floyd’s murder read “Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction.” What if that had been the only documentation of the event the public ever saw? Would today’s verdict have been the same? 

I’m also left to question what this verdict means for the United States. Will it bring change that so many hope for — a precedent for future cases of police brutality — or will it be the exception.