Thankfully on April 20th, 2021 Derek Chauvin was found guilty, on all three charges, of the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin faces up to forty years for second-degree murder, up to twenty-five years for third-degree murder, and up to ten years for second-degree manslaughter. Although this is a victory for the Floyd family, the Black community, and so many more, there is unfortunately still so much work to be done. One of the next steps is for the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. It has already been passed in the House in March, but in order to put this act in practice, it will need sixty votes in the Senate. The majority of Democrats have already supported this bill, although the Republicans are expressing disagreement, especially in the area of getting rid of qualified immunity.
Qualified immunity can be defined as, “A doctrine [that] protects state and local officials, including law enforcement officers, from individual liability unless the official violated a clearly established constitutional right”. This enforcement of qualified immunity, amongst other things, is what is keeping these corrupt, racist police officers in their positions and out of prison. Other aspects of this bill include increased accountability for law enforcement, banning chokeholds and carotid holds, banning no-knock warrants, instituting a national misconduct registry so people can report complaints they have or incidents with the police, police training reform, etc. This act will finally hold officers accountable and can change the system from within via reform. It will also provide officers with training on implicit bias and racial profiling.
When people say “ACAB” they do not mean “all cops are bad” necessarily. What they are saying is that the policing system was founded on racist ideals and practices, meaning that the officers that come with that system are a part of something inherently bad, hence the term “bastards” in “all cops are bastards”. People are trying to say that cops are a product of a corrupt, racist system. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 will hopefully be the initiation of the government reforming this system via new policies, laws, etc. With time, we will see what comes of this bill, hopefully it will pass in the Senate, furthering the chances of this act being implemented nation-wide.