From Floyd’s murder to the Chauvin trial: 5 disappointing facts about police violence against black people

The conviction of a police officer involved in the murder of a black man does not put an end to many other victims and police officers’ crimes that are opposed to them. One of the officers who was near Chauvin at the time of Jorge’s death, Bai Xiaowen, was convicted of multiple degrees of murder throughout his career. The investigation into his crimes began after the publication of a video of Floyd's death last year. In the video, a black man, handcuffed, says for almost 9 minutes that he cannot breathe while lying on the pavement, handcuffed. It was this video that made it onto all news broadcasts and shows, and triggered massive protests against police arbitrariness, oppression of black people and racism. The following will describe the collected static data on the degree and level of violence from authorities. The leading cause of death for black men is law enforcement violence Starting from the early 21st century, more than 1,000 black men have been killed by police, based on street clash statistics. This can be considered a modern history of murder. The vast majority of black victims are young men. Research in recent years has also shown that although the police are responsible for a relatively small number of black deaths across the country, it is law officials that are responsible for the deaths of a significant number of black men. After disease and cancer, accidents, homicide and suicide, police violence is the 6th highest death rate for them. Rounding up the numbers in statistics, we can say that every thousandth black man or boy is killed by the police. Behind the back of a convicted police officer, is a history of abuse Many police officers, including Chauvin, who killed civilians, were once mistreated by relatives, friends or classmates. They also tend to relay similar behavior to other people. According to the analysis, about twenty complaints of minor violations were filed against the convicted police officer. At the same time, any penalties for violations by the police were issued only in 12 cases. In one story of a clash between offenders and the police, officers fired 43 shots at the car of a suspect they were trying to detain. A short comment by one of the officers that the perpetrator raised the shotgun and all suspicions of misconduct were cleared. Harm to black families from improper interaction with the police A mass poll last year found that one in four black men under 35 have been mistreated by the police. Research on black families and their well-being has shown negative experiences with police. Among those surveyed were several thousand families from all over America. In cases where a child, in the opinion of the police, commits an offense, the guardians of the law ignore or conflict with their mothers. Even a simple police stop for a black family is a cause for concern. The shock that later turns into dislike, fear, and anger. For the inhabitants of Europe, this is a much rarer phenomenon If we compare the public safety data of different countries of the world, the American police are almost 20 times more dangerous than the Danish, and a hundred times more dangerous than the Finnish. The answer to such a gigantic difference in relation to law enforcement agencies is simple - a weapon. The permissibility of many states to freely acquire firearms does not benefit the black population. The police are ready to take up arms at the first sign of threat. It was not uncommon for cell phones, screwdrivers and other household items to be mistaken for a pistol. American legislation is on the side of the officer in this matter. The killing of a civilian is justified if the officer can convince the jury that his life, in his own mind, was in danger. In Europe, at the same time, the use of firearms is permissible only when there is no other way to enforce the law. The racist roots of justice in America According to recent research from the criminal justice perspective, racism flourished before modern gun laws. In the south, for example, the first law enforcement agencies were white patrols. The essence of such a patrol was to find and return fugitive slaves. First appearing in South Carolina, by the early 18th century they were in every country where slaves were. The patrol could break into any home if they suspected the family or residents of harboring the fugitives. The northern states did not have such law enforcement agencies, but this does not negate the racist notes in their actions. The main servants of the law were white men and they were more interested in riots than real crimes. Everyone expected them to control the risk groups, from which people expected the most problems. They included blacks, immigrants and the poor. In America today, even after countless victories over racism, there are still a myriad of stereotypes about blacks. This makes every member of the colored population vulnerable to police violence and possible victim of murder.