Monthly Archives: April 2021

The Long Arm of the Law Reaches Into Your Cellphone – Fairfield Sun Times

Posted: April 23, 2021 at 12:47 pm

Even if youve done nothing wrong, the government may be tricking your cellphone into divulging your movements, while seeing who youve texted and called.

Since 1995, local and state governments, as well as federal agencies, have been using cell site simulators, commonly known by the genericized brand name stingrays. These portable devices collect data from the cellphones of anyone who happens to walk into range of its signals.

Stingrays work by mimicking cellphone towers, sending signals to trick phones in a targeted area into transmitting the locations and identifying information from bystanders. Stingrays represent one of the largest bulk data collection programs in the United States, operating at all levels of government.

According to a 2018 American Civil Liberties Union investigation, at least 75 agencies in 27 states and the District of Columbia owned stingrays, with the potential to compromise the privacy of hundreds of millions of Americans. When asked about stingrays, many law enforcement officials obfuscate. A police department in Florida admitted in emails to hiding its use of a stingray-type device. Often, the manufacturers of these devices, and sometimes the FBI, require police departments to sign non-disclosure agreements. Federal law enforcement will often push for dismissal of cases rather than reveal specifics about how these devices are used. In 2018, the ACLU reported that 14 federal agencies were known to utilize stingrays, including IRS, ICE and the FBI.

The decentralized nature of this technology makes investigation difficult. Hundreds of Freedom of Information Act requests would need to be filed to uncover the scope of their use and even then, past experience suggests these requests would often be ignored.

Nationally, laws governing cell site simulators are a patchwork quilt. California law has public disclosure requirements. Maryland law requires a warrant to use a cell site simulator. But many states and cities lack clear laws. In 2015, the Department of Justice issued guidance that federal law enforcement agents should obtain a probable cause warrant before using a stingray, instead of the prior practice of using pen register or trap and trace orders that did not require probable cause. Federal courts, starting in 2016, have begun to exclude the use of stingray-derived evidence. However, it is still common for state and local police to not specify on their warrant applications that a cell site simulator will be used, resulting in judges approving warrants without fully appreciating of what will be searched or seized.

The federal government has had no reservations about using similar mass surveillance technologies for law enforcement purposes in the past. In 2020, the Trump administration bought access to a commercial database that maps the movements of millions of cellphones in America.

Most Americans believe our data should be protected from warrantless searches. The U.S. Supreme Court thought so too, ruling in an analogous 2018 case, Carpenter v. United States, that law enforcement must obtain a warrant to obtain a persons historical location data.

Federal agencies are already learning to sidestep DOJs warrant requirement by routinely purchasing location data from data brokers. The extent to which state and local governments follow similar practices is not known. Without accountability and oversight, agencies could begin purchasing other datasets containing much more personal information than just our location history.

At the moment, two promising proposals would protect privacy rights against these threats. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has announced legislation, The Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act, which would prohibit government agencies from purchasing bulk data containing personal information. As a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Wyden said that public knowledge on shady data brokers is only the tip of the iceberg of the data collection programs occurring on a daily basis, adding: I don't think Americans' constitutional rights ought to vanish when the government uses a credit card instead of a court order.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Wyden are crafting legislation to restrict the use of cell site simulators after the revelation that several government agencies conducted surveillance on individuals participating in last summers Black Lives Matter protests.

In addition to advancing these measures, Congress and the Biden administration should task the Department of Justice with supplementing their guidelines by surveying the usage of stingrays by states and municipalities, as well as the policies that govern their use.

The government is collecting sensitive personal information without a warrant and often without an apparent reason. The American people deserve accountability on how the government is watching us and what it is doing with this knowledge.

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How long will Chauvin serve and what happens next: Sentencing, civil trials, appeals – Vox.com

Posted: at 12:47 pm

After a year of protests, anguish, and a weekslong trial, former police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of murdering George Floyd.

The jury found that, by kneeling on Floyds neck until Floyd died, the disgraced ex-cop committed second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter although, for reasons explained below, hes likely to only face prison time for the first of these three charges.

Shortly after Judge Peter Cahill read the verdict and verified that each of the jurors supported Chauvins three convictions, the judge announced that he would sentence Chauvin in eight weeks. Court officials will spend the bulk of that time conducting a pre-sentence investigation, a process that examines both Chauvins background and the circumstances of his crime, in order to inform Cahills sentencing decision.

Cahill also revoked Chauvins bail and ordered him remanded to custody, meaning that he will spend the period between his conviction and his sentencing behind bars. According to the New York Times, Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement and away from other prisoners due to fears for his safety. At least for the time being, he will spend 23 hours a day in his cell. While he may spend the remaining hour exercising, he will also be kept away from prisoners during that time.

The length of Chauvins sentence is a bit unclear, in part because Minnesotas sentencing guidelines likely give Cahill a fair amount of discretion to increase Chauvins sentence up to the statutory maximum.

Although Chauvin was convicted of violating three separate criminal statutes, he is likely to serve his sentences for all three crimes at the same time. Thats because, while Chauvin was convicted of three separate offenses, he did not commit three separate criminal acts. He committed one the killing of George Floyd which violated three different criminal laws.

The most serious of the three crimes he was convicted of is second-degree unintentional murder. Although state law provides that the maximum sentence for this crime is 40 years, Minnesota judges typically rely on the states sentencing guidelines, rather than statutory maximums, when handing down criminal sentences.

To determine the proper sentence under these guidelines, a judge ordinarily begins with a grid that lays out the presumptive sentence based on the crime that someone was convicted of and their past criminal history.

Because Chauvin has no prior criminal conviction, his criminal history score under the state sentencing guidelines is zero. Therefore, his base sentence for second-degree unintentional murder is 150 months, or 12.5 years.

But thats not the end of the process. The guidelines also allow a sentencing judge to increase an offenders sentence if a jury determines that one or more aggravating factors made the crime especially serious; alternatively, the judge can make this determination if the defendant waives their right to have a jury do so. Chauvin has waived this right.

Prosecutors claim that several aggravating factors were present when Chauvin murdered Floyd, including the fact that children were present, that Chauvin acted with particular cruelty, and that Chauvin abused his position of authority.

If Cahill agrees with the prosecution on any of these points, he has a fair amount of freedom to determine the appropriate sentence, up to the 40-year maximum. According to the guidelines, when a judge departs from the presumptive sentence for a given offender, that departure is not controlled by the Guidelines, but rather, is an exercise of judicial discretion constrained by statute or case law.

Under Minnesota law, Chauvin has the right to appeal his conviction or sentence to a state appeals court, and the state court of appeals must hear this appeal and render a judgment on it. As a general rule, a criminal defendant can appeal any legal matter that they objected to at the trial level, so it remains to been seen which specific matters Chauvins lawyer decides to raise on appeal.

One issue that is likely to come up on appeal is a statement by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) in which she suggested that protesters need to stay on the street and get more confrontational.

Late in the trial, defense attorney Eric Nelson asked Cahill to declare a mistrial because of Waterss statement, claiming that it could have prejudiced the jury against his client. Although Cahill labeled Waterss statement disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch, he rejected the request for a mistrial noting, among other things, that the jury was instructed to avoid news reports.

Nevertheless, Cahill also commented that Waterss comment may have given you something on appeal. (President Joe Biden also suggested in a public statement earlier in the day that the evidence against Chauvin is overwhelming, but he made these comments while the jury was sequestered, so its highly unlikely that jurors were aware of them.)

Realistically, an appeals court is unlikely to second-guess Cahills decision to allow the trial to move forward. Though the Supreme Court has recognized that, in extreme cases, news reports can so severely prejudice a jury that their decision to convict a defendant is invalid, these sorts of claims are typically disfavored.

As the Court held most recently in Skilling v. United States (2010), a trial courts findings of juror impartiality may be overturned only for manifest error. As a general rule, appeals courts are advised to defer to trial judges in cases alleging juror prejudice, on the theory that the trial judge is better able to observe the jury and determine if the jurors are somehow tainted.

Indeed, if appeals courts were too quick to overturn convictions because a public figure expressed an opinion about the case, then its doubtful that any high-profile conviction could stand. As the Supreme Court warned more than 140 years ago:

[E]very case of public interest is almost, as a matter of necessity, brought to the attention of all the intelligent people in the vicinity, and scarcely any one can be found among those best fitted for jurors who has not read or heard of it, and who has not some impression or some opinion in respect to its merits.

This warning is all the more true today, and its especially true in the Chauvin trial, a case that inspired months of protests in cities across the nation. It was inevitable that jurors would have read about this case and potentially heard other peoples opinions about it before they were empaneled. Given the extraordinary amount of news coverage surrounding this trial, its unlikely that Waterss comment was the tipping point that pushed a juror into convicting Chauvin if the jurors were even aware of that comment in the first place.

Last July, lawyers representing George Floyds family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Chauvin, the city of Minneapolis, and three other former officers who allegedly contributed to Floyds murder Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng. The suit alleges that these former officers used excessive and deadly force in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and clearly established law.

The city agreed to settle this case for $27 million last month, but the suit against the four former officers continues.

Realistically, its not clear how much money is actually at stake in the suit against the ex-cops. Its unlikely that any of these four individuals has deep pockets, especially after they have all hired legal counsel to defend them in criminal trials. But this civil suit could provide additional vindication for Floyds family.

Its also unclear whether this civil lawsuit will be resolved anytime soon. The defendants asked the judge to stay any proceedings in the case pending resolution of a parallel criminal case against the individual Defendants. The three remaining officers are expected to be tried in August for aiding and abetting Floyds murder.

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How long will Chauvin serve and what happens next: Sentencing, civil trials, appeals - Vox.com

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How Emergency Powers Pave the Way for Police Brutality at Protests – Rewire.org

Posted: at 12:47 pm

Credit: thomathzac23 // Adobe

When curfew hit at 8 p.m. on April 13 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, it felt like someone had flipped a switch.

Reporters on the ground say the protest outside the police department had been peaceful, full of speeches and songs.

But the environment quickly changed as law enforcement began to use more aggressive tactics, firing less-lethal rounds, tear gas and flash grenades at protesters in an attempt to disperse the protest.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had earlier declared a peacetime emergency in seven counties. He characterized his response in a press conference as the "largest police presence in Minnesota history."

It has been criticized by residents, though, who say it feels like a military occupation. Brooklyn Center residents living near the protest site were even gassed in their homes.

It follows a familiar formula to many racial justice protests in recent history. A state of emergency is called. A curfew is instated. And the folks who continue to exercise their right to protest are met with violence and a large, militarized police presence.

We saw this during 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the police killing of Michael Brown. We saw it in 2016 during protests at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline. And we saw it last summer in Minneapolis during protests after the police killing of George Floyd.

An aggressive police presence doesn't have to start with a state of emergency and local curfew.

Emergency powers don't, on their own, denote abuse.

But the way they're enacted can vary drastically based on the assessment of the threat at hand. Often, emergency powers and curfews are enacted in a way that paves the way for, if not endorses, police brutality at protests.

"Studies tell us that police are more likely to view activists of color and left-leaning activists as being threatening and as being dangerous," said Karen Pita Loor, the associate dean for experiential education and clinical associate professor of law at the Boston University School of Law.

When a state of emergency is in place, the enactor, whether that's the governor or mayor, becomes the commander-in-chief, in a sense. They decide how to carry out the powers.

"Police have this incredible discretion and a lot of tools and a lot of manpower and weaponry to respond in a very aggressive way," Loor said.

"They are the ones that are providing the governor with information about what the threat is and whether a state of emergency is warranted. And how that state of emergency should proceed."

Emergency powers have roots not in protest management, but for times like natural disasters and war.

The emergency power laws we're seeing enacted during these protests are the same ones we see in use during the COVID-19 pandemic, snowstorms and floods.

"We've had emergency powers for as long as we've had constitutions, i.e., for thousands of years," said Nomi Claire Lazar, associate professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa and author of States of Emergency in Liberal Democracies.

"Constitutions are ways of dividing up political powers on one hand and immunities against those powers on the other hand."

But in an emergency, the day-to-day checks and balances that come with a constitution can slow down response and even further disaster.

Emergency powers, then, provide built-in flexibility to respond however is necessary.

"These allow a state to concentrate power and derogate rights in urgent situations which threaten the public on a large scale," Lazar said.

"One way to think about this is that in an emergency, the state can't fulfill its usual public duties without our help (we help by staying home to prevent disease spread, we help by sandbagging in a flood, we help by lending a factory for munitions manufacture), and emergency powers allow the state to command our help."

Emergency powers do not suspend the constitution. While most state statutes don't have any sort of provision preserving individual rights during an emergency, we still have the same rights during a state of emergency that we do on a typical day.

By the Fourth Amendment, we should still be protected against unreasonable search and seizure.

But the checks to make sure this happens don't always hold up. In 1989, Supreme Court case Graham v. Connor defined an "objective reasonableness" standard for law enforcement conduct, which points out that police are forced to make split-second judgements.

The standard has been cited in multiple police killings since, such as the shootings of Michael Brown, Jamar Clark and Philando Castile. It makes it difficult to hold police accountable in excessive force cases through the Fourth Amendment.

Often, lawsuits claiming police unlawfully arrested protesters are dismissed because of qualified immunity, which protects officers from lawsuits except in cases of incompetence. Officers are protected because they can say they suspected criminal activity.

"Basically, what the courts are doing is they're ignoring the fact that the underlying conduct that the victim of the police violence is engaging in is expressive political activity," Loor said.

"The underlying conduct is not that they're criminal suspects. The underlying conduct is that they're actually protestors, which we are supposed to value as a society and also supposed to protect."

Loor believes courts should be recognizing the expressive portion of the Fourth Amendment which has been applied to searches of books and papers when it comes to protest activity.

This month Walz, the Minnesota governor, deployed 3,000 National Guard troops on the ground in the metro area as part of his public safety initiative, Operation Safety Net. That's in addition to 1,000 law enforcement officers and state patrol.

But there doesn't need to be a state of emergency for police to respond to protests in huge numbers. Mutual aid agreements between police departments already make that possible.

And while curfews make it easier for police to arrest protesters, they already have arrest tactics at their disposal that allow them to arrest protesters for nonviolent conduct, including mass arrests for failure to disperse. Even journalists have been arrested simply for possessing gas masks to protect themselves from tear gas.

These arrests often aren't prosecuted. But they can be violent.

There has been concern over military use of force at protests since at least the Kent State massacre in 1970, when soldiers shot and killed four students and wounded nine during an anti-war protest.

After the shootings, National Guard forces moved toward less-lethal weapons like rubber bullets, which are still in use today. But despite being labeled "less lethal," rubber bullets can still seriously injure, even kill protesters.

In 1878, The Posse Comitatus Act was passed to prevent the federal military from engaging in law enforcement activity. There was a desire for the military and law enforcement to be separate entities.

"They're supposed to keep the peace, prevent disturbances, quell disorder, but not enforce the law. That's for the cops," said William Banks, professor emeritus at the Syracuse University College of Law.

But states aren't burdened by that restriction.

"If the governor wishes, depending on how the state law is written, National Guard forces could enforce the curfew or engage in a search or make an arrest of an individual who's violating the law," Banks said.

In the past 20 years, the lines have further blurred. That's because military-grade force doesn't just come from the military.

Since 1997, federal programs have transferred surplus military equipment to local police departments. Police departments often respond to protests in full tactical military gear, with gas masks, shields and armored vehicles.

For instance, as NPR reported, St. Paul suburb Cottage Grove's police department alone acquired $1 million in military gear during the Trump administration. The department received 39 bayonets in December 2019.

"That kind of a force, particularly if it's made distant from the people by virtue of the equipment that they use and the paraphernalia that they wear, and the rules of engagement that follow, they're no longer being responsive to the people," Banks said.

"It's about accountability and transparency."

Public officials never have all the information during a fast-moving situation. But they have an incentive to overreact, to appear as if they are maintaining order and safety.

"Especially in cases where it's 'our' safety and 'their' rights, where the benefits accrue to the majority and the costs fall on a minority, there is a strong incentive for political leaders to overreact so that they are 'seen' to be taking the matter in hand," Lazar said.

Some states, like Minnesota, have sunset clauses which require governors to renew their emergency power monthly. This provides some accountability.

"It's imperative that we never stop talking about the ethics behind emergency powers, never stop questioning, judging and rejudging emergency action," Lazar said.

"That much more so because at such moments, citizens become doubly vulnerable, both because of the emergency itself and because of (rights derogating) mechanisms for addressing it."

Loor and Lazar said it's important to differentiate between emergencies like a flood or pandemic, and a popular uprising against discrimination.

"Really, we have people's civil rights at stake," Loor said.

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How Emergency Powers Pave the Way for Police Brutality at Protests - Rewire.org

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Lawmakers hold good discussions on police reform in wake of Chauvin verdict – Sand Hills Express

Posted: at 12:47 pm

Washington In a rare example of bipartisan momentum, members of Congress are moving forward with discussions over police reform legislation after negotiations stalled last summer.

Spurred by the guilty verdicts this week against Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyds neck for more than nine minutes, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers have convened talks this week on measures to address police violence, as the nations eyes shifted from the Minneapolis courtroom where Chauvin was tried to Capitol Hill.

A familiar sticking point in negotiations, though, has been reforms to qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects police officers from civil lawsuits for constitutional violations. The sweeping reform bill named for Floyd that passed the lower chamber in March would eliminate qualified immunity, but Republicans fear such a step would open officers who acted in good faith to liability.

The measure would also change Section 242 of the U.S. Code to require a jury to decide whether a law enforcement officer acted with reckless disregard in order to convict, rather than the current standard of willfulness.

Congresswoman Karen Bass, who spearheaded the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, told reporters she is engaged in informal negotiations with Republican Senator Tim Scott and Democratic Senator Cory Booker over police reforms. Scott introduced his own proposal in the Senate last year, which has many similarities to the House-passed bill, but does not address qualified immunity for officers. The bill was blocked last year by Senate Democrats who argued it did not go far enough.

Bass, Booker and Scott had a conversation about next steps for police reform legislation on Thursday afternoon, but Bass said it was not an in-depth discussion.

We hope to go to formal talks with the blessing of our leadership. But we do not have that yet. Were not there yet, Bass, a Democrat from California, told reporters at the Capitol after the meeting.

But she acknowledged that the main areas of disagreement in her informal talks with lawmakers remained Section 242 and qualified immunity.

The main point is that we have to figure out a way to prevent these shootings from continuing to happen. And until officers are held accountable, theres no reason to think they wont happen, as weve seen over the last couple of days, Bass said, referring to recent police shootings such as the one that killed Daunte Wright earlier this month. She said it was essential to retain provisions on qualified immunity and Section 242 in a proposal changing policing practices.

I would never say that, you know, its my way or the highway. I would not say that. But what I will say is, those are very important. And holding officers accountable is really the bottom line, Bass said.

Following the discussion with Bass and Booker, Scott, from South Carolina, told reporters he is optimistic about the future of their negotiations. Booker, meanwhile, said he had been given wide latitude by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and noted other lawmakers such as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin were participating in discussions.

Were having really, really good discussions right now, and I feel encouraged by them, Booker told reporters.

The verdicts this week in the case against Chauvin demonstrated the rarity with which police officers are held accountable for their actions on the job by the courts, including for use of excessive force that leads to death.

While the jurys guilty verdicts has sparked a sharpened focus in Congress on passing police reforms, Jay Schweikert, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute who focuses on accountability for law enforcement, said the shifting political landscape in Washington also created more favorable conditions for action.

It seemed like President Trump was not going to sign anything related to qualified immunity reform, Schweikert told CBS News of the former president, who often touted his support for law enforcement.

President Biden, meanwhile, has urged Congress to pass police reforms, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the president intends to elevate the issue during his first joint address to Congress next week.

Schweikert said there are Republicans who recognize there are issues with qualified immunity that need to be addressed and are in search of a compromise solution, one that does not outright abolish the doctrine. Instead, he suggested a promising solution would be one that eliminates theclearly established law standard, under which an official cannot be sued so long as they did not violate a clearly established statute.

Were not going to get meaningful changes from the courts, he said. Real change is only going to come through legislation at this point.

While Congress weighs changes to qualified immunity, three states Colorado, New Mexico and Connecticut have overhauled the legal shield, and the New York City Council last month approved a measure that will allow citizens to sue police for violations of their Fourth Amendment rights.

Schweikert said reforms to qualified immunity at the state level should help alleviate concerns from Republicans about the possible ramifications.

Last I checked there was still a police force in Colorado, he said, adding the law there has been in effect for several months.

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What Indianapolis leaders, organizations are saying about the Derek Chauvin verdict – IndyStar

Posted: at 12:44 pm

The family of George Floyd is celebrating after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death. "Today, we are able to breathe again," Floyd's brother Philonise said. (April 20) AP Domestic

The killing of George Floydshocked the nation last summer. On Tuesday, nearly one year later, a Hennepin County, Minnesota, jury moved the country once again:this time, with a guilty verdict in the trial of officer Derek Chauvin.

Cheers were heard outside the courtroom immediately after the reading of the verdict.Crowds in Minneapolischanted "All three counts!"

The former Minneapolis policeofficer was seen on video pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee for more than nine minutesas Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe.

The video of the arrest set off days of protests over the summer and served as aflashpoint for conversations about police brutality and racial injustice.

Chauvin faced three charges: second-degree murder,third-degree murder andsecond-degree manslaughter.After 14 days of testimony and more than 10 hours of deliberation, the jury found Chauvin guiltyon all three charges.

Local,state and federal officials are weighing in on the highly-anticipated verdict.

Live updates: Derek Chauvin jury reaches verdict in George Floyd's death

Here's what they are saying:

"The ruling in the Derek Chauvin trial is a clear step toward justice for the Floyd family and our entire country. However theres still much more work ahead to reform our criminal justice system.

"We need to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in order to prevent injustices and senseless loss of life in the future. Lets continue working together to enact change and honor the memory of all who have lost their lives to police brutality."

"I think this was a good day for Black America," Harrison told IndyStar. "I think certainly this doesnt solve all of our concerns and issues. But I think for the first time, you know, we had a case where we've really felt like there was justice done. And I think a lot of Black people, I've been hearing from members and people from the community, they feel a sense of relief andfeel the sense that there was justice this time done ...And hopefully this verdict will send a message to those officers across the country that they're going to be held to a higher standard, and they have to abide by the oath that they took to serve and protect all of the community and not just some."

"Our understanding of justice and abolition has been impacted heavily by the death of George Floyd, along with the deaths of Dreasjon Reed and McHale Rose. Today, the justice system attempted to acknowledge the fatally racist standards held by the police by convicting Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

"As abolitionist, we understand that a conviction does not equate to justice or equity and that the conditions that created the environments for global uprisings to occur are present in our own communities: poverty, neglect by city leadership, and an overzealous police budget.

"Now is the time to commit to abolition fully and to defund the systems and entities that mass-produce these agents of white supremacy.

"We look forward to continuing the necessary work of political education and direct action so that our communities can thrive. We send our love and healing intentions to all families impacted by the state and the police. To freedom, and by any means."

Todays guilty verdict is one step in our journey to examine the role of the criminal justice system, particularly policing, in the treatment of Black Americans, said Mary Chandler, Board Chair of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee."Todays verdict represents accountability: for the Minneapolis community, for those who knew and loved Mr. Floyd and for our own ongoing commitment to listen, learn about the Black experience and promote change in the interest of a just future for our City."

We must have real conversations about policing and police reforms. But we must also move beyond conversations and get to action that creates meaningful change, saidTiffany Benjamin of the GIPC Executive Committee and Senior Director of Social Impact for Eli Lilly and Company. "By working together, we canand muststop this seemingly endless cycle that causes so much pain and lessens our communities, city and nation.

"For the past 11 months people of goodwill have prayed that George Floyds death would not be in vain and that justice would be done. Mr. Floyds family said they want peace and do not want to see any further violence. Racism is not a thing of the past and we all must continue to work and pray that the God-given dignity of all people, especially those in our country whose voices have not been heard adequately, will be respected. Let us never turn a blind eye to racism and let us pray that God will heal our broken world."

"Over the past year, Americans have stood and loudly stated that we will not simply bear witness to such grave injustices as those suffered by George Floyd and so many before him.

"While todays verdict can never right the wrongs committed against Mr. Floyd, today the world watched as we held power accountable. We must continue to be vocal and see to it that we fix a broken system that has divided us for too long."

People flooded George Floyd Square in Minneapolis minutes after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death, which triggered worldwide protests last summer. (April 20) AP Domestic

"Indy Pride stands with our BIPOC community members today as the news of the Derek Chauvin trial breaks. We see you. We support you. We stand with you in our fight for justice and police accountability. We are relieved to see Derek Chauvin convicted of all charges and held accountable for his role in the death of George Floyd.

We reflect and remember George Floyd, Daunte Wright, and the lives lost at the hands of police brutality. We send love and light to our community members that are deeply affected by this, today and every day.

Let us celebrate this very small victory in the battle of inequality. This is the moment to make our voices louder and not let this moment halt the necessary continuing movement for police reform and equality."

"Each day, people across Indianapolis, across our state and across the country stood up to make their voice heard and to demand change. In this one instance, justice prevailed. But there remains significant work."

Thankfully, the jury reached the right decision and justice will be served," State Senator Melton's statement read in part."It is my hope now that a proper sentence is given that fits the crime committed and our entire country can use this case to transform the relationship and trust between people of color and the police.

"While the trial against Derek Chauvin was put on spotlight this month, it does not address or solve the ongoing injustices and problems too many Black men face on a daily occurrence across Indiana. Black men like myself in cities like Gary and Indianapolis are still to this day subjected to a culture where police misconduct against the Black community is never-ending and is on every screen and media space. We are simply unable to remove ourselves from a system that was never created to treat us fairly or justly. Police brutality against Black Hoosiers has always been prevalent in American culture, its just that the introduction of body cameras and smartphones finally exposed injustices in real time to millions across the country ...Systemic racism will only end in Indiana if leaders present a transparent process and solution to the public and lawmakers hold themselves to a higher standard that matches the values of our country, not the current political landscape. And lastly, I pray for the family of George Floyd and hope they received the closure they deserve.

"We remaincommitted to ending racism and promoting social justice. The events of last May prompted us to change the way we listen to communities who are marginalized and invest our resources to champion equality. We know making sustainable change is difficult, and we will continue to use the unifying power of basketball as a way to bring people together and work toward meaningful solutions."

"We hope this will be the beginning of the criminal justice reform that needs to take place both nationally and locally.

The great sacrifices and protests that were carried out demonstrate that the system needs significant change. It should not take numerous protests and other sacrifices to receive justice. We are grateful that the jurors had the courage to do the right thing.

This is bigger than politics. Racism is embedded in the fabric of our nation's foundation and is a blemish on our country's history. If we are to change course and make our world a better place, we must face this problem head-on and act now to enact positive change.

It is time to accept accountability and acknowledge the ramifications of slavery and racial injustice. We want Liberty and justice for all!

Though we cannot right all the wrongs of our country's history, we can make some intentional actions:

Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. said, No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. The words of Dr. King could never be truer. As a result, we see this victory as a step in the right direction and hopefully the beginning that leads to much needed change. These changes are not just for our generation, but for the generations that follow, for our sons and daughters and for their children."

"Addressing systemic racism is a journey, and it will take all of us coming together and doing the hard work to make the world a fairer and more just place. Lilly is committed to racial justice and will continue to push towards lasting change."

"We hope the outcome of the Derek Chauvin trial will begin to bring healing to our community and address the many factors that we know adversely affect families of color. While justice prevailed in this case, the racial trauma and repeated exposure to stories of violence and inequalities is still an on-going concern," HSE Schools said in a statement, in addition to district commitments and tips on how to talk about the verdict with your family.

"Thank you George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice. For being there to call out to your mom. How heartbreaking was that? Call out for your mom, 'I can't breathe.' But because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice," Pelosi said in a press conference.

Pelosi later tweeted: "George Floyd should be alive today. His familys calls for justice for his murder were heard around the world. He did not die in vain. We must make sure other families don't suffer the same racism, violence & pain, and we must enact the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicing Act."

Vice President Harris and President Biden and made joint remarks on the verdict Tuesday evening at the White House.

Today, we feel a sigh of relief," Harris said. "Still, it cannot take away the pain. A measure of justice isnt the same as equal justice. This verdict brings us a step closer. And the fact is, we still have work to do.

Harris also spoke about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which she introduced last year.

The President and I will continue to urge the Senate to pass this legislation, not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start. This work is long overdue. America has a long history of systemic racism We are all a part of George Floyd's legacy. And our job now is to honor it and to honor him.

After Chauvin's guilty verdict: A trial for policing, struggle for public trust begins anew

Biden spoke after Harris, calling the verdict "a step forward" but recognizing that "such a verdict is also much too rare for so many people."

"It was a murder in full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism the stain on our nation's soul, the knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans ...this can be a giant step forward in the marchtoward justice in America," Biden said.

"No one should be above the law, and today's verdict sendsthat message. But it's not enough.We can't stop here. In order to deliver real change and reform,we can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen and occur again."

Contact IndyStar trending reporter Rashika Jaipuriar at rjaipuriar@gannett.com andfollow her on Twitter@rashikajpr.

Read or Share this story: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2021/04/20/derek-chauvin-verdict-trial-update-george-floyd-reaction-in-indianapolis/7307902002/

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How Minneapolis Gets from Here to Abolition – Macalester College The Mac Weekly

Posted: at 12:44 pm

The moment the guilty verdicts for Derek Chauvin were read, it felt like the Twin Cities collectively exhaled. The pain and trauma of police violence are palpable within Macalester and BIPOC communities in Minnesota, though Tuesday brought some bittersweet relief. If not justice, the Chauvin verdict at minimum brings accountability. But now what? Real justice will only be reached once we dismantle the racist system that looms over our communities.

Policing in the United States is fundamentally, irreparably broken. Rather than defenders of social safety, Minnesota law enforcement are acting as a tool for social control. Unfortunately for Governor Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey and other Minnesota officials, the recurring uprisings will not be squashed by kettling protesters, arresting college medics and posting National Guardsmen with rifles outside McDonalds. Only justice and progress will do that.

Abolition is a process a vision for a world with no need for cops. We must go beyond Democrats preferred reforms like body cameras and banning chokeholds, which are important but not proven to reduce police brutality. A popular proposal at the moment is reallocating police department funds to social services that prevent the conditions that lead to crime. The community organizing and mutual aid efforts surrounding the police killing of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center proves that these cities can be safe and intradependent, until the police provoke violence. That violence must be curbed, but a police free society will not happen overnight. This makes the steps we take to get there so crucial.

Here is my vision of what Minnesota cities can do starting today to transition away from traditional law enforcement and towards community-centered public safety:

To paraphrase the author Rosa Brooks, we ask cops to respond to every mishap in society. They are tasked to be social workers, surveillers, soldiers, medics and mediators. Most people could not manage a single one of these exhausting jobs. If you ask a random 25-year-old to do all of them in a 12 hour shift, they will fail. We should divest cops of many of these responsibilities and pass them to specialist civilians.

58% of killings by police in 2020 629 deaths were traffic stops, police responses to mental health crises or situations where the person was not reportedly threatening anyone with a gun. So first, armed police do not need to respond to traffic violations. Trigger-happy officers and a nauseating pattern of racial profiling have caused the traffic-stop deaths of Daunte Wright and Philando Castile here in Minnesota and 121 others across the nation in 2020. Minnesota should follow the lead of Berkeley, California, which created an agency of unarmed civil servants to conduct traffic enforcement. Second, in mental health and domestic crises, a social worker or mental-health professional should be present to handle situations without the instinct of escalation.

More generally, most police should not have guns. There should not be armed officers in public schools, public transportation, shelters and hospitals. Communities of color are often overpoliced for petty crime see the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Eric Garner which does not make them safer. In response to disarming officers, many will ask, what about gun violence? Obviously, some special squads should still be armed. But its clear the status quo is not getting us anywhere. Cracking down on crime by beefing up cops has failed time and time again. Its a tough dilemma, but perhaps we should try taking guns off the streets and investing in opportunities for people instead of jail cells.

Believe it or not, Minneapolis has already taken baby steps towards a community-based public safety model. On the same day Macalester students were kettled in Brooklyn Center, the Minneapolis City Council passed a first-step ordinance to establish a division of traffic safety to remove cops from roadway enforcement. The 2021 city police budget also redirects 5% of its funds to alternative programs like a Mental Health Co-Responder Program and Community Group Outreach and Intervention. The city could go further to replace the majority of the police departments duties with these programs.

However, the city council failed to clear the most pressing hurdle towards reformation when it opted against approving a referendum to revise the city charter to remove the minimum licensed officer requirement. If approved, the referendum would have allowed the city to reallocate funds and personnel away from armed peace officers to more specialized duties. I believe a majority of Minneapolitans could get behind changes that reduce the presence of traditional cops in the neighborhood while maintaining or reducing crime rates.

From that point, the cities need the state legislature to take action. A DFL House and GOP Senate agreed on some common sense reforms like requiring an officer to intervene when another officer is using excessive force. However, they need to go further in removing protections for violent cops; Derek Chauvin is the first white cop in Minnesota history to be prosecuted for murder. This looks like disincentivizing violence by ending qualified immunity, amending use-of-force laws and removing bargaining power from police unions. Furthermore, the state can aid the transition to community-centered safety initiatives through funding and pilot programs.

Defunding and abolishing the police will meet fervent opposition and would require herculean efforts of community organizing, political persuasion, policy making and local cooperation. But it is worth it. We can design a system of public safety that relies on decentralized, disarmed, anti-racist public servants and community partnerships and we should do it now. Then, the work of transitioning away from policing altogether can begin.

(For an even more comprehensive vision of police abolition in Minneapolis, check out the MPD 150 report.)

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Activist, scholar Angela Davis discusses the U.S. prison system with Penn State’s Restorative Justice Initiative – The Daily Collegian Online

Posted: at 12:44 pm

The Restorative Justice Initiative at Penn State hosted political activist and scholar Angela Davis as the keynote speaker to kick off its Justice Education Week program. Davis is a civil rights advocate, author and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The event was moderated by Kathryn Belle, Efrain Marimon and Divine Lipscomb. The moderators guided Davis' talk by asking questions from the Zoom chat and previously submitted questions.

Davis discussed issues within the United States' prison institution regarding race, class, feminism and systemic oppression. She spoke about abolitionists in today's society and the effects from the Penn State community.

"Last summer, we witnessed millions and millions of people go out into the streets and speak out against police violence some calling for defunding the police," Davis said. "When we talk about abolition, we're not primarily referring to a negative process of elimination that needs to happen, but what is even more important is the productive side of abolition."

Davis raised questions about the prison industrial complex today and other alternatives to these institutions.

"How do we imagine a society that no longer needs to rely on these violent racist institutions? What do we need to change? Davis said.

Then, Belle asked Davis how the Restorative Justice Initiative can learn from the connection of her experiences of conferences, and scholarship with activism and prison abolition, and about the pitfalls of this in higher education.

Davis referenced the advocacy work she has been involved in since the 1960s and what she's learned.

"It occurs to me that it was a process understanding the interconnections and intersectionality of the issues," Davis said. "The ways in which the criminal legal system is linked to education starts in kindergarten to high school to the university."

Davis then spoke about her career path shes experienced backlash from her political views and her goals of prison abolition.

"I first came under attack at UCLA because of my political affiliation," Davis said. "I was fired from my first job at UCLA in the philosophy department because of my membership in the communist party."

Moreover, Davis connected the work Penn State's Restorative Justice Initiative is doing to work she has seen in the past.

"I know the Restorative Justice Initiative is emphasizing education and education within the prison systems," Davis said. "I think it's really important to remember what previously existed, and if one looks at the history of the prison system, one sees a pendulum swing that moves from before."

Members of the Penn State community were able to ask Davis questions. Residence hall coordinator Stephen Taylor, Penn State Law career services programmer Sharon Barney and student Damaris Fraser asked Davis questions personally.

According to Davis, educating children about the problems of racism and systemic oppression will lead to institutional changes.

Davis also spoke about the mental health support she received throughout her advocacy work because of the "collective action" from others in her organizations.

"If one has a collective awareness of the fact that there is work done not by just individuals, but also communities, then one doesn't think that the whole process will collapse," she said. "If I take off a little time to recover, I know that the work will continue, which is also a question of capitalism."

At the end of the event, Davis left the Penn State community with suggestions on what they can do to help, such as the conscious use of language and continuation of conversations.

"We have to engage in the kind of self reflexive consciousness that will allow us not only to participate in larger processes of change, but will allow us to change as well, our ways of being in the world to change."

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Groups host festival in support of divesting from police – GazetteNET

Posted: at 12:44 pm

NORTHAMPTON In traveling to Pulaski Park on Sunday, Ashwin Ravikumar, a volunteer with Northampton Abolition Now, said he noticed signs of new life, like cherry blossom trees.

But, the joy of spring was muted by the rage I feel, he told a crowd of about 100 people gathered in the downtown park on Sunday for the Spring into Abolition Festival. Ravikumar spoke about Daunte Wright, a Black man shot by the police at a traffic stop in Minnesota last week, and the killing of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old recently shot by the police, in Chicago a city I call home.

Ravikumar asked the crowd, Are the Northampton Police miraculously an exception to these patterns? The group shouted in return, no.

But, Ravikumar said, here in Northampton, we have a tremendous opportunity. He called on the city to create a new Department of Community Care that is independent from the Police Department.

That was the top recommendation from the citys Policing Review Commission report, released last month. The commission recommended that the city create the new department to respond to some 911 calls, like sending peer responders to mental health and substance use crises.

Around the park Sunday afternoon, organizations sat at tables with signs and flyers talking to people about their work. Groups included Northampton Abolition Now, the Trans Asylum Seeker Support Network, A Knee is Not Enough, Touch the Sky, and the Wildflower Alliance.

A growing number of cities across the United States are transforming their municipal budgets to reduce their reliance on police and move towards meeting the real needs of people in their communities, a statement from the groups organizing the event read.

In Northampton, Mayor David Narkewicz is slated to present his proposed budget in mid-May, one week before the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by police, the statement reads. We have a historic opportunity, right now, to win a concrete local victory in defense of Black Lives by divesting from policing and investing in a bold new vision of community safety in Northampton.

At the event, a number of activists from different organizations spoke. Aya Mares, a member of Decarcerate Western Massachusetts, read a poem written by Josh, who Mares said is incarcerated in the Hampden County Jail. Mares read Joshs writing about the difficulty of re-entering society after incarceration. Theres no such thing as rehabilitation here.

Before Javier Luengo-Garrido, a member of the citys Policing Review Commission, played the guitar and sang, he spoke to the crowd. The Department of Community Care must be accountable to those it serves and led by those it serves, he said. There is no other way.

Alternatives to the police, need to be peer-led, said Ya-Ping Douglass, a member of Northampton Abolition Now. She told the crowd about the groups demands, which include reallocating the more than $800,000 cut from the police department budget last year, creating a department of Community Care, and cutting the Police Fepartment budget by 50% and reallocating the funding.

Douglass encouraged people to contact the mayor and City Council, and said the group plans to do door-to-door canvassing soon.

Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.

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A World Where George Floyd And MaKhia Bryant Would Still Be Here Is A World Without Police – NewsOne

Posted: at 12:44 pm

On Tuesday the state delivered what was intended to be a lullaby to soothe our collective outrage at the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin: whispers of guilty, guilty, guilty. Instead, within minutes, the nightmare of policing reared its ugly head as news broke that officers in Columbus, Ohio, responded to a call for help by pumping four bullets into the heart of a 16-year-old Black girl within ten seconds of arriving on the scene of a fight.

Notwithstanding the platitudes offered on cable news suggesting that we can all rest easy now that the verdict has put everything right in the world again, and the declarations of victory being made by everyone from pundits to players, Chauvins conviction of murder in the second degree represents neither justice nor change. It may offer a measure of solaceand we deeply hope George Floyds family and community can find some solacebut only in comparison to the alternative. No matter how much time Derek Chauvin is sentenced to, it wont bring George Floyd back to his loved ones or offer healing or repair. Nor will it bring any relief or respite to Black people terrorized on a daily basis by thousands of cops just like Derek Chauvin.

Not only has there not been justice, there hasnt been accountability. Chauvin hasnt taken any responsibility for his actions, and neither have the three cops who stood by as he murdered Mr. Floyd. Cops across the country are trumpeting the trial as a miscarriage of justice. Militarized police preparations for anticipated protests of the trials outcome frame communities as enemy combatants. And the passage of laws across the country criminalizing dissent and authorizing violence against protesters demonstrate the stark reality that the verdict wont do anything to protect Black communities facing brutal repression whenever we rise up in mourning and rage in the wake of each new police murder.

A single conviction of a single cop wont change the system that produced and enabled him; in fact, it will embolden it to continue business as usual under the pretext that it can deliver justice. For every rare criminal conviction of a killer cop, thousands more Black people will be murdered, maimed, raped, criminalized and dehumanized without consequence. Since 2005 there have been 140 police arrests on murder or manslaughter charges, while cops have killed over 1000 people a year on average since at least 2014.

In the six weeks since the Chauvin trial began, 64 people have been killed by police65, if we count MaKhia Bryant, shot as the verdict was handed down, and 68 if we count the three more people we know about who were shot the day after. Only 1.1% of police who kill people are criminally charged, and the number of prosecutions documented over a decade represents just over 1/10th of the number of people police kill in a year. Of these, only 44 cases yielded convictions, usually on lesser charges.

Each of these prosecutions consumed tremendous amounts of resources while leaving a murderous system intact. Not one of them stopped the next killing. Yet each is offered up as an illusion that the system will somehow hold itself accountable. The state will gladly sacrifice a few officers in unique and spectacular cases to preserve the status quo while enabling policymakers to peddle the idea that justice has been done.

Policymakers are already making it clear that they no longer feel pressure to continue with the political theater of passing legislation that would have done nothing to prevent Mr. Floyds deathand would pour $750 million more dollars into departments like the one that employed Chauvin to investigate police killings after the fact. They will use Chauvins conviction to argue that the system is working just as it should, and to stifle any efforts at substantive systemic change. In other words, George Floyds murder is being used to recuperate the institution that killed him in the midst of one of the greatest crises of legitimacy it has faced.

The state will gladly sacrifice a few officers in unique and spectacular cases to preserve the status quo while enabling policymakers to peddle the idea that justice has been done.

The futility of prosecutions in preventing the next police killing was proven by the actions of a Columbus, Ohio, officer who gunned a Black girl down in the street in front of her home as the verdict in the Chauvin case was read, and of the officers who then proceeded to yell Blue Lives Matter at a grieving crowd of Black people who had witnessed her murder while wearing face masks with the pro-police slogan emblazoned on them.

But MaKhia Bryant is much more than a well-timed rhetorical point in a debate about reimagining policing vs. abolishing the violent institution altogether. She matters not because the timing of her killing allows for a neat juxtaposition, but because her life does.

MaKhia was a beloved Black girl who would still be here if we didnt perseverate on the myth that cops and policing keep us safe. If we focused on how Black girls are perceived and policed from the youngest age in every institution. If we understood that for Black women, girls, trans and gender-nonconforming people, a call for help can be and is all too often fatal. If we understood the violence Black girls routinely experience in the foster system as part of the violence we are fighting to end. If we understood that our failure to protect Black girls, women and trans people from violence and provide for a world where they have everything they need to be safe often leaves them with no choice but to defend themselves and then be criminalized, punished, or worse yet, killed as a result.

As members of the In Our Names Network gathered on Tuesday night to hold space together and learn more about how we could support MaKhias family and organizers on the ground in Columbus, we worried that the tragedy of MaKhias killing would be sacrificed to the imperative of the recuperation narrative, to preserve the dream that justice was and can be done for a Black man killed by police.

George Floyds murder is being used to recuperate the institution that killed him in the midst of one of the greatest crises of legitimacy it has faced.

We braced ourselves for the inevitable demonization, victim-blaming and adultification of a Black girl, and the predictable distinctions drawn between armed and unarmed victims of police violence. We anticipated the focus on what she was doing instead of questioning why killing her, as opposed to employing a multitude of other options, including de-escalation, is being normalized as a rational response under circumstances. We watched as her family fought to have the world see MaKhia as worthy of life, and as people circulated videos of a beautiful sweet Black girl doing her hair in an effort to counter criminalizing and dehumanizing projections. We know that there will be no conviction or accountability for the officer involved, and that non exceptional killings like this will continue to be routinely justified in contrast to rare prosecutions of police. Her experience illuminates the full picture of policing, in which the Chauvin prosecution is the exception, not the rule.

As the state continues to sing the lullaby that justice was served in the Chauvin case and we can make the system work for us, we cannot be seduced by siren songs of faux accountability and prison sentences. More and more people are becoming uneasy and disquieted by the lullaby, rather than being induced to slumber. We all need to keep our eyes wide open to see the work ahead.

The demand is still to defund and abolish policing. We cannot let policymakers claim this conviction as a justification to continue to pour money into policing and punishmentincluding through more investigations, consent decrees, commissionsand oversightwhile our communities continue to be defunded and denied the resources we need to survive, the majority of survivors of violence continue to be left behind by law-enforcement-based approaches, and our loved ones continue to be criminalized and killed. We cannot afford to double down on the notion that if we just pour more faith and funds into the system including money intended for pandemic recovery the nightmare will dissipate.

We watched as her family fought to have the world see MaKhia as worthy of life, and as people circulated videos of a beautiful sweet Black girl doing her hair in an effort to counter criminalizing and dehumanizing projections.

We cant sleep in a world where a man is murdered over a $20 bill and then blamed for his own death, where a woman is killed in a police home invasion, where a teens call for help can be fatal, where children are killed before, during, and after a trial intended to burnish the reputation of the institution that killed them. The whole damn system is in fact guilty as hell. Its time to build a world where they would all still be here to dream their own futures. A world where there is more safety, more resources, and infinitely more options to address conflict, harm and need. A world without police.

Mariame Kaba and Andrea J. Ritchie are co-founders ofInterrupting Criminalization, and co-authors ofNo More Police: A Case for Abolition(forthcoming from New Press in 2022). Kaba is the author of the New York Times best-sellerWe Do This Til We Free Us, founder ofProject Nia, and co-founder ofSurvived and Punished. Ritchie is the author ofInvisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color, co-author ofSay Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women, and co-founder of theIn Our Names Network.

Black Visions Collective: We Need to Abolish the Police & End Militarized Occupations of Our Cities – Democracy Now!

Posted: at 12:44 pm

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. Im Amy Goodman, with Juan Gonzlez.

As weve reported, a jury in Minneapolis has convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin on three counts of murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds last May. Hes the first white police officer in Minnesota to ever be convicted of killing a Black person. The jury reached its decision after 10 hours of deliberation. Judge Peter Cahill revoked Chauvins bail and will sentence him in two months. He faces up to 40 years in prison for the most serious charge, second-degree murder.

For more, we go to Minneapolis, where we speak with Kandace Montgomery, co-executive director of Black Visions Collective, a Black-led, queer- and trans-centering community organization based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul thats part of the movement calling to defund the police.

Kandace, welcome to Democracy Now! First, your reaction to the verdict?

KANDACE MONTGOMERY: Thank you so much for having me.

Yeah, my reaction, like many, was an exhale for our community. Many of us have been holding our breath in anticipation for this verdict. And though I dont think that justice can ever be served when weve lost a life in this type of situation, I do think its important to be able to honor that exhale of a breath and honor the peace that Im sure George Floyds family and friends are now able to experience and feel. And so, for that, for them, I, you know, am, of course, very happy.

JUAN GONZLEZ: And, Kandace, Im wondering your reaction to the statements of Attorney General Keith Ellison. He gave a very lengthy statement after the verdict, going into basically the history of abuse of African Americans by law enforcement. Your reaction to that and to his role in all of this?

KANDACE MONTGOMERY: Yeah, you know, I think its really critical that we are lifting up this history and that Attorney General Keith Ellison is also doing so. And his work to really push for justice in this moment has been important in many ways.

At the same time, you know, Attorney General Keith Ellison also has been part of the militarized occupation that is currently happening in Minneapolis and across Minnesota in response in preparation for this verdict, as well as response to the murder of Daunte Wright. And so, you know, my offering back to the attorney general is to really look at the ways that we are able to not just reckon with the history that we have to deal with, but also look at how we are perpetuating that history in these moments, specifically by limiting the rights of Black and Brown protesters right here in his state for peacefully protesting against, once again, another police murder.

JUAN GONZLEZ: And in terms of the sentencing for Chauvin, will be in about in approximately eight weeks, your sense of what would be a just sentence for him in this situation?

KANDACE MONTGOMERY: I dont necessarily think that I have an assessment of what would feel as a just sentence in this moment. As an abolitionist and as someone who really thinks that justice is tied up much beyond someone being imprisoned, I think its important to really think about justice, going forward, actually looks like defunding and abolishing police. It actually looks like ending militarized occupation in cities that are responding to police murders and the like, and truly uprooting the hideous roots of this institution of policing in this system that continues to kill Black people. At the same time that we were, you know, exhaling or collectively celebrating the verdict of George Floyds murder, we also witnessed another murder of a Black teenager, MaKhia Bryant, almost at the exact same time. And so, really, as folks are looking forward to the sentencing, I really want to encourage people to think about justice as much more long-term and that we set our bar a lot higher when it comes to calling for justice than an adequate sentencing or not.

AMY GOODMAN: Last year, Kandace, in the days after the protests erupted over Derek Chauvins murder of George Floyd, the majority of the Minneapolis City Council made a pledge to dismantle the police. This is Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender.

LISA BENDER: Our commitment is to end our citys toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department, to end policing as we know it and to recreate systems of public safety that actually keep us safe.

AMY GOODMAN: Around the same time last year after George Floyds murder, organizers with your group, Black Visions Collective, and others convinced Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to step outside his home to speak with them. In this clip, we hear you, Kandace, questioning the mayor.

KANDACE MONTGOMERY: Will you defund the Minneapolis Police Department?

MAYOR JACOB FREY: I do not support the full abolition of the police department.

KANDACE MONTGOMERY: All right, fine! Youre wasting our time! Get the [bleep] out of here! Get the [bleep] out!

PROTESTERS: Go home, Jacob! Go home! Go home, Jacob! Go home! Go home, Jacob! Go home!

AMY GOODMAN: So, thats Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey telling you, Kandace Montgomery, I cannot support the full abolition of the police. Now, that was last June. I want to ask you two things. First of all, the importance of the activists? Its something that the Floyd family repeated over and over last night in thanking activists. The only reason the first African American elected to statewide office in Minnesota, Keith Ellison, was in charge of this prosecution is because it was taken out of the hands of Hennepin County by the governor as a result of the massive protests. And then, I want to ask about the protests very much centering around this whole push for defunding the police in Minneapolis, including the City Councils vote, what, in December to cut $8 million from the $170 million police budget and divert the funds to mental health and violence prevention. Lay out for us what you have proposed and what you feel has been accomplished and what you think needs to be accomplished.

KANDACE MONTGOMERY: Yeah. So, for the several last years, even before 2020, Black Visions and our partner, Reclaim the Block, and other community organizations have been calling for the divestment from policing and, in particular, the investment in our communities investment as in investment in real safety, the things that actually create the conditions for safe and healthy and vibrant communities, like housing, like healthcare, like quality access to jobs, like water that you can drink, things like that, instead of pouring and wasting millions of dollars on policing, that we know, ultimately, have, one, never been designed to protect and serve low-income people, people of color ever in fact, were intentionally created to oppress and keep us in our current conditions. That has really been our call since 2018.

And so, in 2020, it was really an important and immediate call to action to defund the police after the murder of George Floyd, because, for me and many of my comrades, that is what justice actually looks like, is ending this and making sure that there is never another George Floyd or a Daunte Wright or a Dolal Idd or a MaKhia Bryant or a Breonna Taylor ever again. That has really been the work that weve been doing.

And we have been working with the City Council to push forward that demand. Right now what that looks like here in Minneapolis is calling for the development of a Department of Public Safety and a charter change in our city that will eliminate the requirement for the current shape of our police department, the amount of officers, and really the amount of money that we waste every year here in Minneapolis on policing, and allow us to move those resources and create the infrastructure at a citywide level for real investment in safety alternatives that do not rely on the police solely, and a public health approach to how we think about safety here in Minneapolis that truly centers care for all of our people. And the City Council, along with community organizers, have been working on this initiative this year and are excited to bring it to voters in November, this proposed charter change.

What Ill say about our mayor, Jacob Frey, is that what weve seen since last summer and to this point is that he is completely inadequate to fulfill the responsibilities of his executive role, to be clear about the types of decisions that he does or does not have power around, to actually fulfill the promises that he ran on when he was being elected, and has continuously tried to pit Black communities against each other in order to preserve his political standing and actually not move forward on investments in community safety like his constituents have been calling for. So I think its important for people to understand the ways that our mayor has really blocked and gotten in the way of justice.

You know, I want to shout out the George Floyd Square organizers, who for almost an entire year have been out there every single day, out there between 8 a.m. 'til late into the evening, protesting and holding down truly sacred space that is providing mutual aid and care to community members, that is curating the art of this movement, so that people can memorialize and remember this moment, and is not letting the city back down from its promises. That has been so crucial, as well as the organizing led by young people during the uprising last summer that truly lit the fire under the conversation here in Minneapolis, but across the country and across the globe, and put pressure in all of the right places that were needed. And then, of course, our demands, alongside others, to not just call for Black lives mattering, but for to call for a clear demand to change this system by defunding the police, as we move towards abolition of the police ultimately, over the years to come, and invest in a new model, a new future, a new vision, for how we do safety. So, that's really the moment here. And I really appreciate you lifting up the importance of activism, and not just activism, but intentional organizing, that folks have put into, intentional strategy that community members have been building for decades to get us to this point.

AMY GOODMAN: And this just incredible moment of the bystanders, the passersby, who simply cared, didnt know each other, including, at the time, the 17-year-old Darnella Frazier, who was the one who took that video. And I want to just end this conversation with a reminder of what actually came out from the police department versus what Darnella did.

Shortly after Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police Department issued a press release describing what had happened. The release was titled Man Dies [After] Medical Incident During Police Interaction. The statement said, in part, quote, Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car. He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later.

It was only that video, and then, of course, the eyewitness testimony of passersby who didnt know George Floyd, but who were deeply concerned about watching a slow-motion murder, that showed the lie of this press release. Your final comment, Kandace?

KANDACE MONTGOMERY: Yes, eternally grateful for Darnella and her bravery in being willing to not only witness this murder but report it, so that the family and others could pursue justice for George Floyd. And again, the police department will continue to show its true colors and what its actually rooted in, which is making up lies and committing crimes against humanity for the sake of maintaining its institutional power. So, I think that that is important.

And it should not be lost on people that here in Minnesota right now we are experiencing extreme response and militarized occupation of National Guard and millions of dollars being poured into policing, risking these same conditions. And so, you know, I think that its important that we witness this, that we document these things, that we share these things, and that we continue to protest, we continue to get out in the streets, because we know that the police will lie on our name any day without hesitating, and that only we are the ones who are able to keep us safe. And Darnella reminded us of that.

AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, Darnella was with her 9-year-old cousin, who was wearing a T-shirt that said Love. Kandace Montgomery, co-executive director of Black Visions Collective, a Black-led, queer- and trans-centering community organization based in the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

Next up, we go to Harvard professor Khalil Gibran, author of The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America. Stay with us.

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Black Visions Collective: We Need to Abolish the Police & End Militarized Occupations of Our Cities - Democracy Now!

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Monthly Archives: April 2021

The Long Arm of the Law Reaches Into Your Cellphone – Fairfield Sun Times

How long will Chauvin serve and what happens next: Sentencing, civil trials, appeals – Vox.com

How Emergency Powers Pave the Way for Police Brutality at Protests – Rewire.org

Lawmakers hold good discussions on police reform in wake of Chauvin verdict – Sand Hills Express

What Indianapolis leaders, organizations are saying about the Derek Chauvin verdict – IndyStar

How Minneapolis Gets from Here to Abolition – Macalester College The Mac Weekly

Activist, scholar Angela Davis discusses the U.S. prison system with Penn State’s Restorative Justice Initiative – The Daily Collegian Online

Groups host festival in support of divesting from police – GazetteNET

A World Where George Floyd And MaKhia Bryant Would Still Be Here Is A World Without Police – NewsOne

Black Visions Collective: We Need to Abolish the Police & End Militarized Occupations of Our Cities – Democracy Now!

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