Statement on the Conviction of Derek Chauvin and Police Accountability
On Tuesday, a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts of the murder of George Floyd. While we are relieved that the criminal legal system held him accountable, his arrest, charge and conviction are incredibly unusual. One guilty verdict does not rectify the systemic racism that has harmed generations of Black, brown, and indigenous people. As Vice President Kamala Harris stated, “A measure of justice isn’t the same as equal justice. This verdict brings us a step closer, and the fact is, we still have work to do.”
We do have much work to do. Even as the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial was returning the guilty verdict, a teenage girl, Ma’Khia Bryant, was shot and killed by police in Columbus OH. Only a few days earlier, Adam Toledo, a 13 year old boy, was murdered in Chicago. Daunte Wright, a 20 year old young man, murdered in Brooklyn Center MN. The conviction of Derek Chauvin does not erase these and dozens more killings of Black, brown, and indigenous people across our country. The conviction does not undo the racism upon which our systems are built. And the conviction does not bring back George Floyd.
As a domestic violence organization, our relationship with the police is complicated. We want to believe that in an emergency, a survivor can call the police for help to stop or prevent abuse. But in all likelihood, what should be a call for safety often leaves survivors re-traumatized and can put people in BIPOC communities at risk of harm or death.
Casa Myrna supports the demand for police reform, to reduce funding for police, and to reinvest that funding in the structures and organizations that will actually make our communities safe. The changes that must be made include: the provision of safe, affordable, quality housing in marginalized communities; community-based de-escalation practices that center on healing and liberation, not criminalization and incarceration; and an investment in community resources, including mental health and substance misuse supports. In line with our values of healthy relationships, justice, and community and partnership, Casa Myrna is committed to working with the criminal legal system to usher in reform and promote police responses to domestic violence that are trauma informed, effective, and safe.
We are grateful for the Black, brown, and indigenous women and survivors that founded our movement, have been calling for change, and put their lives at risk to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity and justice. We believe it is (past) time for all our systems, institutions, and organizations to see BIPOC communities as fully human, that their lives matter.