Editorial: One cop’s crime: What we’re learning from Derek Chauvin’s trial for killing George Floyd

A headline in the Washington Post put it this way: “Policing is not really on trial in Minnesota. That’s too bad.” Too bad? To the contrary, the trial of ex-cop Derek Chauvin has so far exposed how systematically the accused violated his oath, his training and the standards of his profession.

On the witness stand, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified that in putting his knee on George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds (longer than the 8 minutes, 46 seconds we all thought), Chauvin was in blatant violation of the department’s policies. Police Lt. Richard Zimmerman, who’s served on the force for 36 years, said: “Pulling him down to the ground face down, and putting your knee on the neck for that amount of time, it’s just uncalled for.” Lt. Johnny Mercil, the department’s training coordinator on the use of force, called the neck restraint an “unauthorized” act of aggression. Some blue wall.

This is not to subscribe to the notion that everything that’s wrong with policing in America is the result of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. Even in the Big Apple, that’s facile. While the vast majority of cops protect and serve with decency and integrity, many departments have chronic problems ingrained in the very culture of the way they enforce the law. Too many cops have a habit of dehumanizing those with whom they deal, especially Black and brown people.

The fact that Chauvin had been the subject of at least 17 misconduct complaints throughout his career and remained on the force is a searing comment of the force for which he worked.

But no fair-minded person can call Derek Chauvin’s actions last May 25 an extension of ordinary policing. Whether or not it is deemed to be murder or manslaughter in a court of law, what he did to George Floyd was a distortion of the cop’s creed. It was a perversion of duty. Policing is not on trial; one former cop is.

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