The officer who was directly involved in the abusive arrest and subsequent death of Mr. George Floyd has a very checkered past.
This probably isn’t “shocking” news to anyone, after all, normal people don’t just put their knee on the back of someone’s neck for several minutes while everyone around begs him to stop.
Documents from the Minneapolis Police Department show that officer Derek Chauvin, who was kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than five minutes was internally reviewed 17 times for complaints against him during his 19 years serving as an officer.
MORE NEWS: Watch: Video Surfaces of George Floyd Just Days Before He Was Killed
That’s nearly one incident every single year.
Why on earth was this man a police officer?
“Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, has had 17 complaints against him filed over the years,” Buzzfeed reporter Tasneem Nashrulla tweeted along with an image of the 17 complaints. “All but one were closed without discipline, per records.”
In 2008, Chauvin shot Ira Latrell Toles while responding to a domestic abuse call in which Chauvin and other officers said Toles had reached for a gun.
In another instance, Chauvin was placed on leave in 2011 after he was part of a group of officers who pursued 23-year-old Leroy Martinez and shot him. Eyewitnesses said they never saw Martinez holding a gun, and though Chauvin was not the officer who shot Martinez, he was placed on temporary leave.
In several of the internal reviews published by the Civilian Review Authority, Chauvin was accused of using “derogatory language,” a “demeaning tone,” and “language — other” while on duty.
Thousands of protesters and looters poured into the streets of Minneapolis in anger over the past two days since video footage showed the death of Floyd.
“Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Wednesday. “We cannot turn a blind eye. It is on us as leaders to see this for what it is and call it what it is.”
This entire tragedy could have been avoided if someone – anyone – stood up and did something about this bad cop.
Also, his fellow officers who stood there while he slowly killed a man are no better.
This “order taker” robotic attitude that many police officers have – the same type of thing we’ve seen on countless “Corona crisis” videos where police are overreaching left and right because they’re “justs following orders” – needs to end.
Police officers need to understand that they work for us. We’re the “customer” and while I get that they have a stressful job and it’s scary – if they don’t feel that they’re up for the very hard and sometimes dangerous and thankless challenge then perhaps they should look for another line of work.
After 17 complaints, this jackass man should have been fired.
This piece was written by Missy Crane on May 28, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Steve Gruber.
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