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“Feeled minimal”: Readers respond to Derek Chauvin’s verdict
The conviction of George Floyd’s murder felt like the burden had been removed, but for many, Damara Atkins paid tribute to George Floyd in a mural painting on George Floyd Square on Friday. Photo: Julio Cortez / AP “Police station should be demilitarized” Like many, I was immediately relieved. I sat in the office for three weeks updating news coverage, but on the final day I had a knot in my stomach that grew as they approached the verdict. I supported refunding police funds in the sense that money was transferred from the police station to other social programs and offices, but did not abolish the traditional police altogether. With the recent shootings of Daunte Wright and Ma’Khia Bryant, I’m obsessed with abolition. At the very least, accountability needs to be at the core of police work, more than any other profession. It should be the foundation they build: if power is used, they are made to justify it, without the implicit implication that they are automatically assumed to be innocent of cheating. Expectations. Police stations need to be demilitarized. That money should be spent on pro-social initiatives, which mainly help dehumanize them to the general public – the last thing they need now. Hannah, 36, Minnesota Celeste.Photo: Celeste “Police officers need better psychological examination” The conviction convicted by the jury was relieved and felt a bit weight loss [my shoulders] – It’s a bit like removing your winter clothes in January. Immediately afterwards, my son reminded me that I can’t forget Dante Wright, who wears snow boots, because you are still standing at the front door and have to go back there. I have no hope for the future of the police. Police culture has deep and disturbing roots and a solid coalition, and resistance to change is enormous. Officers who patrol the city center are often not members of those communities. This is not a prerequisite and needs to be changed. Police officers need better psychological tests. The department must provide trained professional therapists with consistent reporting and 24-hour access. It also requires more community involvement and more effort to recruit people of color. Celeste, 48, works in Healthcare, Minnesota. “I need a social worker to respond to a mental health emergency, not a police officer.” A few hours before the verdict was announced, there was news that a man died in police detention in the city where I live. .. Police issued a vague statement that did not explain what had happened. Now we are waiting for the body camera footage to be released so we can know the truth. Instead of celebrating the conviction, my wife and I watched a five-hour city council meeting to see if they would deal with this death, but they didn’t. In the United States, there is no moment of national unity when it comes to police violence. I don’t think this country will change the law and order meaningfully in my life. Anti-blackness is the anchor of this country, and the United States refuses to admit it. You need a social worker who responds to mental health emergencies, not a police officer. Surveillance by civilians is required. You need the police to not have a gun. Instead of criminalizing poverty, we need to provide people with safety nets. There is a need to reduce interaction between the police and the general public. The police station’s portfolio of activities needs to be reduced. And as their responsibilities diminished, we put the money somewhere. In short, refund the police. John *, 29, software engineer, California Damon Motz-Storey. Photo: Damon Motz-Storey’I don’t believe reform is possible anymore’ The verdict felt minimal, but it’s not justice. Justice would be that George Floyd is alive today and breathing with his family. Justice will put an end to police violence against blacks, browns and the mentally ill. This type of verdict is extremely rare and is not affected by the killing of countless other police officers. I no longer believe that reform is possible or ethical at this point. I thought our society had a police role. I thought that “protecting and serving” was something that the police could grow. I think the only option left is to steadily refund the police and reinvest their public funds in an alternative public security system. For example, Portland Street Response is a pilot program for unarmed first responders to escalate and support people experiencing a crisis on the street. If Portland Street Response was called to respond to Robert Delgado, he could have been alive today and connected to mental health services and resources for homeless Portlanders. Damon Motz-Storey, 27, works for a non-profit public health advocacy company in Oregon. “Police policy should be published.” I was pleased with this ruling. Becoming a police officer is not an easy task, and the majority of police officers perform their duties in accordance with the law. So I hope that future crackdowns will be successful, thanks to most of the prestigious people who do their best to fulfill their obligations to the community. I think we need very rigorous screening of new employees and much better training, along with a department that makes it clear enough that violations of law, training, or policy can lead to immediate dismissal. If you need the facts, we will arrest you. Stop jumping to conclusions, whether you’re a civilian or the police. Wait for all the facts and then act accordingly. I feel that police policy should be publicized so that it can be noticed by the public and made a statement for implementation. David, 73, former police officer, Oklahomama Shudeny. Photo: Matthew Denny “Police are still almost ignorant in dealing with the minority community.” As a person working in the legal profession, I felt the facts strongly supported the ruling. If the same crime occurred and the perpetrator was not a police officer, this was an open and shut case. But I know that juries are very hesitant to even prosecute police officers. So I didn’t know what the verdict would be. But I’m at least happy that it went in the right direction. I’m pretty pessimistic about the future of the police. I think the strength of the opposition to Black Lives Matter shows that many whites in the United States still have a lot of racial hostility in them. When I called the police in the past, it was always a tribute to the situation of homosexual domestic violence, and I never felt that the police took them very seriously. When the police are still little ignorant in dealing with the minority community, I don’t see the police change that much. For me, the structure of the “police” needs to be completely changed. Police should not respond to mental health calls. Armed police must also not carry out traffic outages or respond to non-violent misdemeanors. Fewer armed police may result in fewer police killings. Matthew Denney, 33, Paralegal, CA * Some names have changed