OPINION:
Justice is a lofty ideal, but it mustn’t thrash about in the course of human events like the stars and stripes atop a flagpole. The integrity of the judicial system is on trial as George Floyd’s name is once again blaring across the national landscape. As Americans ponder the tragedy of one man, they should not forget that many more lives have been blighted by lawlessness in the aftermath of his death. Justice for George Floyd that ignores the ruination of others would dishonor its meaning.
This week features the sky-high-profile trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the Memorial Day 2020 death of Floyd. Three others are scheduled for trial in August. The video of Mr. Chauvin kneeling on the victim’s neck during an arrest set off a season of nationwide protests and riots led by Black Lives Matter and Antifa revolutionaries.
It is likely no coincidence that the House of Representatives chose to preface the upcoming trial with last week’s approval of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a wide-ranging reform bill now awaiting Senate consideration. Some of the measure’s provisions promise to add valuable clarity to interactions between police and citizens, such as requirements that federal uniformed officers, and state and local law enforcers receiving federal funds, be equipped with body cameras and dashboard cameras.
Other provisions, however, threaten to weaken police presence in America’s communities. The bill would ban certain chokeholds and require suspects pose imminent danger before the use of force, including deadly force, is permissible. Perhaps most impactful, the bill would restrict the ability of officers who engage in misconduct to invoke qualified immunity, which protects government officials engaged in their duties from civil suits.
A more just society is the bill’s intent, but the law would have unintended consequences if it renders police reluctant to emerge from their patrol cruisers for fear of a mistake that makes them the next target of a violent protest.
Disturbing aftereffects of the George Floyd tragedy are already evident. The FBI’s Preliminary Crime Report shows that murder nationwide increased an astonishing 20.9% in 2020. Aggravated assault rose 8.3% across the 50 states. Arson surged 24%, including a staggering 54.8% in 1 million-population municipalities.
There were hundreds of George Floyd protests. Some were peaceful, but scores of individuals were killed during the violent ones. News reports variously placed the number between 20 and 30. By contrast, 18 unarmed Black persons were shot by police nationwide in 2020, according to The Washington Post. Killing innocents in protest of the slaying of an innocent simply compounds misfortune with tragedy.
For his role in the death of George Floyd, Mr. Chauvin is to face justice meted out by a court of law. Americans whose riotous behavior contributed to the deaths of their fellow citizens should also be called to account. Otherwise, justice is a joke.
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