Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It was June 24th, a day before the sentencing of Derek Chauvin. “Conversations with Al McFarlane” focused on Derek Chauvin’s imminent day of reckoning, with lawyer/legal scholar guests, Minnesota Attorney Clinton Collins, Jr. and Dean Emeritus, Professor Burnele V. Powell, University of South Carolina.
Collins’ predicted Judge Peter A. Cahill would sentence the convicted former police officer to at least 15 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd last year. “The judge will probably base his decision on unnecessary cruelty, abuse of authority, and continuing the fatal, heinous act in front of children (9 and 17) for almost 10 minutes. But we also have to consider this officer is a first-time offender, and although he’s been behaving like this for quite some time and just not being accused, the tables turned this time. I was surprised Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts,” Collins said.
Interestingly, and undeniably, the composed and remoreseless demeanor of the convicted murderer as he took George Floyd’s last breath away stays in the public psyche, as does the stark black-white disparities in wealth, health care, housing, and education.
Collins was right. Cahill levied a sentence of 22.5 years. At least 15 years of the 22.5-year sentence would have to be in prison before the convicted officer would be eligible for supervised release leading to parole short of the full sentence.
“It was the video which demanded accountability,” Collins said, “and a police chief’s testimony against his own officer, and a pulmonologist’s detailed medical analysis that clearly determined how the victim’s life was taken.”
He said he wondered if it would have made a difference had Derek Chauvin testified in his own defense. Many wondered what could have possibly been on the senior officer’s mind and that of the other three charged officers.
“It’s a unique criminal case,” Professor Powell said. “We’re not looking for retribution or rehabilitation, but we do want those like Chauvin to know George Floyd’s murder was unacceptable behavior and could have been prevented. We want others to know they just can’t get away with it. In Colorado, the Enhanced Law Enforcement Integrity Act (SB-202-17) states that officers who violate people’s civil rights can be held personally responsible in state court. One can’t assume everyone is a professional or that they are following orders. We have to stop misconduct among those who have been charged to uphold the law. Through a much clearer and more intense training window, leadership must admit we’re just not there yet. Like most professions, there are standards. And it doesn’t change if someone’s been on the job one day or 352 days,” said Powell. “An employee of some certified entity took an oath, and that means something. In the legal world, there are certain duties of a subordinate; mainly to relay directly to a superior if the behavior of a supervisor was not reasonable. Attorney Collins added if Lane, one of the three officers facing charges, participated in the preparation of the report pertaining to the Floyd murder (immediately refuted by the video and other witnesses’ recollections), his case quickly weakens.”
Powell and Collins examined the question of “qualified immunity.” What if, McFarlane asked, “sworn officers had to purchase their own liability insurance? Would the threat of personal cost increases mitigate ability of bad actors to operate with impunity? What if insures rejected high-risk applicants based on their record of complaints or charges made or sustained. What if you couldn’t get or keep a job in law enforcement if you couldn’t get personal professional insurance?”
Professor Powell had a few reservations. He said he understood the need for a reasonable deterrent to bad behavior. Still taking into consideration what police officers and other public servants are paid, he questioned the fairness of that option. “Perhaps a state-wide insurance policy could be economically more efficient. We might also think about the role of police unions in criminal cases, and whether they should focus more on issues like fair pay and supportive and conducive working conditions,” Powell said.
Collins said Judge Peter Cahill “has been in the public realm most of his career. He takes the law seriously and has had well-rounded professional experiences. Cahill made it quite clear his sentence had nothing to do with any pressure of public opinion and that the sentence would reflect accountability, abuse of authority, and the fact that the murder was carried out in front of children.”
The Floyd family attorney Ben Crump asked, “After the guilty verdict on three counts against Derek Chauvin and the fall of the blue wall of silence, will this be the new precedent as it relates to policing in America and interactions with people of color?” We will see what happens next. Will ‘true’ leadership and instrumental change please rise?
