The trial in Minneapolis is going to be interesting, if nothing else. My hope is that the truth comes out and justice is appropriately served, not that a police officer is found guilty to appease the public nor that it's miscarried to excuse poor judgement by a police officer.
First and foremost - I was not there nor involved in the situation. That said, these are my personal and professional observations based on what I've seen and read of the incident.
Facts that are undisputed:
1. Officer Chauvin had George Floyd on the ground, in restraints, with his knee on the back of Floyd's head and neck, for approximately nine minutes.
2. Durning most of that time Mr. Floyd says over and over "I can't breathe. I want my mama. You're going to kill me." At some point, about six minutes into the video, Mr Floyd stops moving and talking and becomes quiet. He is later pronounced dead.
3. Autopsy has shown significant ammounts of illegal drugs in Floyd's system. Are they a factor in his death? Unknown.
I spent 22 years working in federal corrections and have restrained literally thousands of inmates, most with their cooperation but many without. I have knelt on the upper backs of hostile and uncooperative inmates with my knee in the same position on the inmate as in the Floyd case. It was done to stop the inmate from resisting until he was properly subdued and restrained. Once restraints were properly applied, if the inmate continued to struggle, other officers held his limbs until the struggle ceased or he was transported to a cell. There was no reason to maintain pressure on the back of the neck once the inmate was in restraints and became compliant.
Prior to working for the Bureau of Prisons I was a paramedic for eight years in the Air Force, with extensive emergency medical training. One thing I can say from that experience - if you truly cannot breathe you cannot talk and say things repeatedly for six minutes. Was Floyd's breathing diminished by the knee on the neck? Probably. Was it blocked completely? No. There became a point during the incident when Floyd either became compliant or passed out. It's that moment that needs to be uncovered and examined.
Both my medical and law enforcement training tell me that the pressure on Floyd's neck should have been removed at that moment. Was it too late at that point? We don't really know. All we know is that Floyd eventually died.
Do I believe Officer Chauvin is guilty of second degree manslaughter at this point? Second degree means the perpetrator did it in the heat of the moment. No, I don't. Do I believe he committed third degree manslaughter through his actions? I don't know that either. There are many forensic details that will come into play (i.e., drugs in system, erratic behavior, resisting officers.) But I believe that would be a more appropriate charge given what I've seen.
I believe the prosecutor might actually agree with me at this point since he attempted to add third degree manslaughter to the case after the trial began. The judge appropriately said no.
These are my opinions based on the research I've done.
Whether he's convicted or not will be determined by many factors. Can the prosecutor prove second degree manslaughter? I have my doubts. Could he have proved third degree? Probably. But that charge isn't there. Will the jury convict just to maintain peace in the city? Possibly. Should the trial have been moved to a different venue? I believe so. Will there be rioting and destruction if Officer Chauvin is acquitted? Absolutely. Will there be rioting and destruction if he is convicted and not sentenced as severely as some want? Probably.
I'm not sure this case has a good outcome regardless of the verdict and sentencing. We shall see.
No comments:
Post a Comment