Derek Chauvin's Convictions & the US Legal System

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Rikkitic

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#2699207 28-Apr-2021 12:00

I think it was pretty well established at the trial that the officer ignored his training. He wasn't unskilled. He was a murderous thug who thought he could get away with it.

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TheMantis

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#2699215 28-Apr-2021 12:21

Rikkitic:

I think it was pretty well established at the trial that the officer ignored his training. He wasn't unskilled. He was a murderous thug who thought he could get away with it.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and in this case my opinion is that you spout some absolute rubbish.

Paul1977

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#2699217 28-Apr-2021 12:29

Rikkitic:

Lawyers will argue and judges will decide but in my inexpert opinion (and the jury’s), this qualifies as murder on more than one count.

Intentional murder: (1) causes the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of that person or another, but without premeditation.

Cop didn’t start out planning to kill (premeditation) but changed his intent in the course of the event.

Unintentional murder: (1) causes the death of a human being, without intent to effect the death of any person, while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense other than criminal sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or violence

The felony offense in this case, is the excessive and unjustified use of force in subduing the victim (assault), and the failure to lend assistance when the victim was clearly in mortal distress. Both of these transgressions are specified in the Minneapolis Police Department Policy and Procedure Manual. See from page 228. I imagine the jurors read this when deciding on their verdict.

I'm not sure that it does fit the description for "unintentional". I would have read that as someone knowingly committing a felony that resulted in an unintentional death (e.g. running someone over with a getaway car after a robbery). While he was certainly well outside of his training, I believe he probably thought he had the authority to do what he did and didn't believe he was committing a felony.

The "Use of Force" section in the manual is 37 pages long. Are you able to specify the sub-sections that say use of excessive force was considered felony offences because I can't find it?

Rikkitic

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#2699218 28-Apr-2021 12:32

TheMantis:

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and in this case my opinion is that you spout some absolute rubbish.

As you say, everyone is entitled to an opinion.

Edit: I meant to include this link. Chauvin clearly has a murky history, even if he was never prosecuted and even if he may have done some things right. Although some police departments are exemplary, it is well established that others, probably including this one, go out of their way to shield their officers from any consequences, even when the officers step outside the bounds. It is likely that this kind of policy protected Chauvin from the consequences of other transgressions.

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Paul1977

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#2699221 28-Apr-2021 12:34

gzt:
Some levels of the American justice and judicial system are only one step removed from the wild west, or the old south if you prefer.

On that basis there are a lot of issues. No doubt a huge number of arrests initiated by Chauvin and the resulting convictions obtained will fall into the same category. I look forward to your strong advocacy on behalf of those people.

Why would I advocate for them if they were tried and found guilty just because he was the arresting officer? Unless Chauvin had a history of evidence tampering or coercing confessions (unlikely, as interrogations would be above a patrolman's pay grade) then why would any of those convictions be in question?

Paul1977

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#2699222 28-Apr-2021 12:40

1101:

Why no convictions for the police officers who watched & did nothing ?
why no accountability for probable lack of training ? lack of supervision ?

I suspect its become making an example due to public backlash , rather than justice for the police officer himself .
If he didnt have proper ONGOING training , and wasnt given the skills to deal with these situations, then its just a witchhunt
he's just a scapegoat for the US's ongoing issues. Nothing will change .

You can't supervise someone forever, and it's a big "if" as to whether he was insufficiently trained, or simply ignored his training.

As for the other officers, they are being tried together in September I believe on "aiding and abetting" charges.

EDIT: It doesn't take training to know that if someone is saying they can't breath for several minutes, then convulses for another couple of minutes, then becomes totally unresponsive for a couple more minutes; that maybe you've knelt on their neck too hard and far too long. I think he was still on his neck when the paramedics arrived.

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gzt

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#2699239 28-Apr-2021 13:38

1101: Why no convictions for the police officers who watched & did nothing ? why no accountability for probable lack of training ? lack of supervision ?

This is one of the things the George Floyd Act will address. It has passed Congress and is expected to pass the Senate with minor alterations if any. See the Biden topic for more detail.

Rikkitic

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#2699240 28-Apr-2021 13:42

Paul1977:

The "Use of Force" section in the manual is 37 pages long. Are you able to specify the sub-sections that say use of excessive force was considered felony offences because I can't find it?

Take a look at the Minnesota statutes. They cover excessive ('deadly') force by law enforcement in some detail. A 2020 statute specifically forbids any action that restricts breathing, with the sole and clearly defined exception being to protect the officer from death or great harm. As was made clear in the trial, neither of these applied in this case.

This explains felony crimes in Minnesota. Any crime with a sentence of more than a year is a felony. Causing someone to stop living by restricting their breathing qualifies however you slice it. The officer was violating his department's clear policy as well as the statute. Here is some more information on it.

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Rikkitic

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#2700008 30-Apr-2021 10:15

The Department of Justice is charging Chauvin and the other three police officers with federal civil rights violations. CNN reports Chauvin will also be charged for an earlier 'violent arrest' of a 14 year-old, who he battered with a torch and also rendered unconscious with a knee to the neck. Like I said, he is a murderous thug who thought he could get away with it. The Attorney General is also launching an investigation of Minneapolis Police practices. As I suspected, there has probably been a pattern of tolerance for excessive and unlawful police behaviour.

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#2734844 26-Jun-2021 08:16

22 years

https://edition.www.cnn.com/us/live-news/derek-chauvin-sentencing/h_d79ed2f75f8f02c3bbef5d7f4de58e06

gzt

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#2734847 26-Jun-2021 08:25

Apparently there's a federal civil rights trial coming up. I expect any sentence from that will be added to this one.

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