All eyes are on the outcome of the Chauvin trial. What will the jury decide? But there are much bigger issues lurking in the background. Of course the big focus is: is this a symptom of widespread police brutality? But other less obvious issues should also be addressed. What policies were in-place to justify the attack on George Floyd? Who sponsored the policy? Is there a training issue here–was Chauvin properly trained? or was the trainer faulty in the training process? is this a tactics error or a strategy mistake? We need to know who screwed up (technical term) and take disciplinary action against those people as well. Someone failed in the chain-of-command either by supporting the neck “move” or by not outlawing this action.
All Police Commissioners must accept responsibility for the actions of their command. A felony conviction of a police officer should also result in the demotion or termination of those in his/her direct chain-of-command. Only when leaders become vulnerable do they guarantee that policies and practices are appropriately enforced. When a team loses a baseball game, the manager feels the heat but can make amends the next day. But when a police officer takes an action that results in an unnecessary death–there is no tomorrow. When police leadership sees their exposure they will tighten and enforce the rules.
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