The world has united in protest after a graphic video emerged showing a Black man dying under the restraint of a White police officer. The victim, George Floyd, was in clear distress. He was pinned to the ground by three officers, with one officer — Derek Chauvin — placing a knee on his neck. For over five minutes, he tells the officers that he is unable to breathe. George Floyd died as horrified bystanders told the officers they were killing him.
The video is unquestionably horrific.
But in our rush to condemn an aggressive use of force and pursue justice for George Floyd, we have ignored crucial information which is necessary in judging the conduct of the officers. While nothing can absolve George Floyd’s death, these facts do cast doubt on the appropriateness of a murder charge for Chauvin, and paint a more nuanced picture of the events leading up to the tragic encounter.
This is an excerpt from an article by Gavrilo David at Medium is an example of what real journalism used to be. It is not an attempt to prove innocence. It takes a deep look into facts that indicate the officers may have been overcharged which could make it harder to get a conviction. It’s a long article. Please click the link and read it before replying.
That was a very(!) well done article which reinforced my early opinions.
The whole episode stinks to high heaven!!! In the very beginning I saw bits and pieces of “truth” leaking between the fingers of the squeezing fist of orchestrated outrage!!! The way the whole thing metastasized into full-fledged riots proved to me that it was all designed to destroy peoples’ ability to think rationally and to create excuses for heavy handed government action on all aspects of American Society!!
It’s all right out of a well known totalitarian playbook…titled “Rules For Radicals” by Saul Alinsky!!!