George Floyd's family attorney Ben Crump believes that for the “first time in years in America,” that “meaningful police reform” will be possible at the federal level. Speaking to Yahoo Finance on the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s death, Crump said these changes in policing will be Floyd’s “legacy.”
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was introduced in Congress by Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) roughly two weeks after Floyd’s death. The bill limits the use of qualified immunity as a defense and lowers the criminal intent standard in order to convict a law enforcement officer. The bill would make it easier for police officers to be prosecuted and convicted for fatal interactions with the public.
Floyd’s cousin Shareeduh Tate said the family is “waiting for the next step,” in the passage of the bill. “But I think delayed is not denied. And the fact that we are at this point is promising in my eyes, you know, so our hope is that this will actually come into fruition, as well as on the state level, that we continue to see those acts being passed on the state level as well.”
Crump said the reason this bill is so important “is because we do have Black people being unjustifiably killed in every city, in every state in America. And it is a hodgepodge of different rules and laws that are applicable. So that’s why we need to have this meaningful police reform, to deal with issues of qualified immunity and to deal with issues of levels of force that are allowed under the National Standard.”
George Floyd was murdered while being arrested by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The arrest was captured on film, and Floyd’s death set off worldwide protests and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin was ultimately found guilty in Floyd’s murder.
“This is a tipping point,” Crump explained, expressing belief that this is a moment of real change.
Crump highlighted the deaths of other Black Americans, including Breonna Taylor that haven’t received the attention and recognition that Floyd’s murder received.
“George Floyd’s torturous murder was the most documented occasion of torture by an American citizen, by police that has been viewed all over the world. I think they said 50 million times on YouTube. And that’s not counting on television and other media platforms. So everyone has seen this video. And once you see this horrific documentation of murder, you cannot unsee it,” he said. “And that’s why it’s galvanized people and cities all over America and cities all over the world.”
Crump explained that the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman “raised consciousness” in America, but “George Floyd has done even more than that.”
“A lot of our white brothers and sisters never could fathom something like this. But when Black people see the video of George Floyd, begging for breath with the police officers kneeling on his neck, we know but by the grace of God, that could be either one of us, any one of us,” he said.
Kristin Myers is a reporter and anchor for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
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