True justice requires broader police reform all across America. 

On April 20, Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd[1].  And rightfully so, people all over America let out a collective sigh of relief.  There were tears of joy, jubilant cheers, and messages of hope – a bright light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

Roughly a year after Floyd’s death touched off a global protest movement and an unprecedented racial reckoning in America, there was finally accountability for Chauvin and, more importantly, affirmation that Floyd’s life mattered.  But despite how great this particular victory feels, the battle is yet to be won.

To echo Otis Moss III, pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church, “We have not yet dealt with the disease.”[2]

Case in point, on the same day that the Chauvin verdict was handed down, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was fatally shot by police in Columbus, Ohio[3], further underscoring the severity of police brutality and the crucial need for wider police reform.

Why we need police reform

Police reform is a priority because the current criminal justice system isn’t designed to uphold values of justice and equality.

Most trials for police killings don’t result in outcomes like that of the Chauvin case.  In fact, officers are rarely convicted for using excessive force, and in the instances that they are, it’s for lesser offenses[4].

Furthermore, Black people and other people of color often live in neighborhoods that are overpoliced.  This means minorities are more likely to have run-ins with police and, thus, more likely to be victims of excessive force.

And there’s also mass incarceration.  Of the more than 2 million people behind bars in America, Black people – especially Black men – are disproportionately represented.

These issues illustrate why real justice requires so much more than holding a single officer accountable.  We have to shift the culture and redesign the system that allows so many other officers to walk away with a slap on the wrist.

How do we approach reform?

Opinion is split here.  There have been countless proposals, ranging from minor tweaks to existing practices to a total reimagining of modern policing.  But there is consensus on one thing – any improvement is a step in the right direction. 

Some key steps that departments could take include the following[5]:

• Mindset Shift: Police departments need to acknowledge the culture of abuse that has led us here. These departments also need to own up to policing’s racist beginnings[6].
• Racial Bias Training: If police officers are going into communities of color, they need a deeper understanding of the culture, the people, and the collective trauma they’re dealing with.
• Increased Focus on De-escalation: Officers need to focus on deescalating situations as opposed to using deadly force. Additionally, officers can’t always be the solution to every problem.  In Eugene, Oregon, the CAHOOTS program sends out medics and health workers to answer 911 calls instead of police[7].  Imagine the outcome for Daniel Prude if a mental health professional came to the scene.
• Greater Accountability: We need better processes in place to ensure all officers are held to account for unnecessary uses of force.
• Individualized Approaches: Too often, law enforcement targets an entire community, despite the fact that crime is caused by individual offenders. With better data and more inclusive strategies, officers can focus on stopping crime at an individual level versus terrorizing whole neighborhoods.

For anyone who feels like these reforms are an attack on law enforcement, they’re not.  Police reform is not anti-police – it’s pro-justice.  The reforms aren’t intended to vilify police or suggest that all police officers are racist or poorly trained.  These reforms are designed to make policing fairer and more effective.  They would give officers a way to do their jobs without disproportionately killing Black people.  They would make policing better for everyone involved – people of color, minority communities, and police officers.

The Chauvin trial has opened up possibilities about what reform could look like, but there’s still so much work to do.

 

[1] Levenson, Eric and Cooper, Aaron. (April 21, 2021). Derek Chauvin found guilty of all three charges for killing George Floyd. Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/20/us/derek-chauvin-trial-george-floyd-deliberations/index.html

[2] Burch, Audra D. S., et al. (April 20, 2021). The Death of George Floyd Reignited a Movement. What Happens Now? Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/us/george-floyd-protests-police-reform.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210421&instance_id=29493&nl=the-morning&regi_id=84898780&segment_id=56000&te=1&user_id=709b3b9adf6b11551eaf0b6014b79e86

[3] McBride, Jessica. (April 22, 2021). Ma’Khia Bryant Shooting: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Retrieved from: https://heavy.com/news/makhia-bryant-shooting/

[4] Lopez, German. (April 2, 2021). Police officers are prosecuted for murder in less than 2 percent of fatal shootings. Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/21497089/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-trial-police-prosecutions-black-lives-matter

[5] Lopez, German. (June 1, 2020). How to reform American police, according to experts. Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/2020/6/1/21277013/police-reform-policies-systemic-racism-george-floyd

[6] NPR. (June 13, 2020). The History Of Policing And Race In The U.S. Are Deeply Intertwined. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/13/876628302/the-history-of-policing-and-race-in-the-u-s-are-deeply-intertwined

[7] Andrew, Scottie. (July 5, 2020). This town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It’s worked for over 30 years. Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/cahoots-replace-police-mental-health-trnd/index.html