By Michael Ge
Protests have erupted all across the United States after the murder of George Floyd by then police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25th. Chauvin forced his knee on Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds while the three other officers with Chauvin did not help Mr. Floyd. Floyd was later pronounced dead at the Hennepin County Medical Center. All four officers were fired on May 26th after videos of the murder were circulating on the internet. There are also protests happening in response to the killing of Breyonna Taylor by police and Ahmaud Arbery earlier in the year.
Derek Chauvin has since been arrested and charged along with the three other officers at the scene. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder,and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Some protests have turned violent. The police station of the 3rd Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department was burned down by protestors on May 28th and a Target was looted. But for the most part protests have generally been peaceful.
Conduct of police officers during the protests has been widely criticised. 75-year-old Martin Gugino suffered serious injuries after he was pushed over by officers of the Buffalo Police Department in Niagara Square. The two officers involved in the incident, Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe, have been suspended and charged with assault. 57 officers from the emergency response team of the Buffalo Police Department resigned to show support for Torgalski and McCabe and their supporters applauded them after they left the courthouse.
Protests have also spread across the world. In the United Kingdom, protestors in Bristol tore down the statue of Edward Colston and threw it into the River Avon. Colston was an infamous 17th century slave trader. Other protests have taken place in London, Paris, and Berlin.
The Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department after they gathered enough votes to override any potential veto from Mayor Jacob Frey after Frey voiced his opposition to dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department. Minneapolis will not be the first American city to dismantle its police department. The city of Camden, New Jersey dismantled its police department in 2013 and switched to community policing.
