At approximately 5:15pm EST yesterday Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts in the murder of George Floyd.
“Today, we are able to breathe again. Justice for George means freedom for all.” Philonise Floyd
“We frame this moment for all of us, not just for George Floyd. This is a victory for those who champion humanity over inhumanity, those who champion justice over injustice, those who champion morals over immorality.” Ben Crump, Floyd family attorney
“While today’s verdict may have been a necessary step on the road to progress, it was far from a sufficient one. We cannot rest. We will need to follow through with the concrete reforms that will reduce and ultimately eliminate racial bias in our criminal justice system.” former President Barack Obama
“Black Americans, and Black men in particular, have been treated throughout the course of our history as less than human. Black men are fathers. And brothers. And sons. And uncles. And grandfathers. And friends. And neighbors.” Vice President Kamala Harris
“Enough. Enough. Enough of the senseless killings. Today’s verdict is a step forward…[but] Such a verdict is also much too rare. For so many people, it seems like it took a unique and extraordinary convergence of factors.” President Joe Biden
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That same day Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl in Columbus, Ohio called the police for help. They shot this sweet girl four times and killed her.
https://twitter.com/mercxkurt/status/1384675907185618944
“As we watched the verdict from Minneapolis many talked about the sigh of relief — but there is a truth that for so many in our community there is no relief.” Columbus City Council president Shannon Hardin
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There aren’t words to describe the emotional whiplash of going from oh thank God they convicted him to oh my God they shot this Black baby girl, this is never-ending. Our work is barely begun.
Linda hosts One-Liner Wednesday. Check out her blog for the rules and to see who else if participating today.
Riddle from the Middle 
Police training needs a complete overhaul. I read that police are trained to shoot at the largest part of the body. I can maybe see that if the other person is firing a gun at someone. But in Ma’Khia ‘s case, they should have tried something else. And why four shots?! It makes no sense. Police training needs a complete overhaul.
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My husband and I were just talking about that last night, the fact that they’re trained to shoot at body mass. I guess because it’s largest so they’re least likely to miss but this can’t be our best option. I’m starting to wonder if a training overhaul will be enough. Derek Chauvin and Kim Potter were both training officers — you can’t fix this level of lethal dysfunction within the system.
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I agree. We need more than a training overhaul as that would only address the superficial behavior. I think fear is an underlying factor covered up by other things. I pray for those in power to grow in empathy and compassion.
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Now time to stop this ever happening again.
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I’m hopeful the Derek Chauvin verdict will turn up scrutiny on police behavior for everyone now.
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I applaud the verdict for Chauvin, but Do we know how “innocent” this girl was? Although I think shooting her four times was too much, I think we need to know more before we judge.
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It doesn’t matter how innocent she is. There is no reason to fire four bullets into a 16 year old girl because she’s holding a knife. I’ve seen too many incidents where police chose less deadly force with white people wielding axes, knives, or AK47s to feel like this situation is okay at all.
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I agree with you, four shots is too many. Disarming her should have been the priority. My comment is largely because I am opposed to what seems to be the way people are referred to as wonderful angels once they die, no matter their color. We are what we are, and we should be remembered as we are/were, warts and all.
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This is so true! This will sound backhanded – and I can’t figure a way to make it not – but this especially infuriates me with situations like this one. She could be an angel, she could be seriously troubled, she could be a teen in a fight at her foster home. None of that has anything to do with the fact that she shouldn’t be dead. Media has learned to craft a narrative that makes someone’s life worth saving and that’s not right.
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Yes
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💛
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Oh no, what a barbaric thing to do, shooting an innocent 16 year old.
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It’s hard to watch. It’s even harder to hear people argue she should have been shot because she had a knife — she did, she had to be stopped from hurting the other girl, but I don’t understand how people make the leap to that means he should fire four bullets into her. Crushing.
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It’s so disturbing when ordinary people become judge and jury. Passing verdicts on everything
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