Unrest in USA: Explained
Jul. 23, 2020 • Architi Batra
[The author, Stuti Bhansali, is a second-year law student at Manipal University, Jaipur. She is interested in pursuing commercial and civil laws.]
Amidst the lockdown, such situations have risen that has led people to come out on the streets to change the society they live in. How black people in America feel today is that “COVID-19 is threatening their health and White Supremacy is threatening their existence. And both are killing them every single day.”[1]
WHAT HAPPENED?
On 25th May 2020 at around 8 p.m in the evening, the owner of a retail shop suspected that his customer, Mr Gerorge Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 note and informed the authorities. On arriving at the scene, the police looked into the matter and attempted to put him in a police vehicle when he dropped to the ground, telling them he was claustrophobic.
According to police, he physically resisted officers and was handcuffed but it is completely different from the videos floating around the social media.[2] Mr Floyd can be heard saying "please, I can't breathe" and "don't kill me" while he was unnecessarily pinned down by the officers using a neck restraint technique.
The official post-mortem examination of Mr Floyd by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office also recorded evidence of heart disease and recent drug use. It said he suffered the cardiac arrest "while being restrained by a law enforcement officer" on 25 May. This report said Mr Floyd died from asphyxia (lack of oxygen) due to compression to the neck - which can interfere with oxygen going to the brain - and compression to the back, which interferes with breathing
Mr Derek Chauvin who had pinned down Mr Floyd has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers involved, Mr Thomas Lane, Mrs J Alexander Keung and Mr Tou Thao were fired but have not been charged, angering protesters and community leaders who have demanded all four officers be held accountable. According to the criminal complaint, Mr Chauvin acted with "a depraved mind, without regard for human life".
WHAT ALL WENT WRONG?
- Arrest Protocol
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that as soon as you are taken into custody and questioned, you must be informed of the following, commonly known as your Miranda rights[3]:
- You have the constitutional right to remain silent.
- Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.
- You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.
In addition to advising you of your rights, the arresting authorities must respect your human rights. From the footages available, it can be clearly seen that the protocol was not followed rather the whole situation was handled inhumanely by the officers-in-charge.
- The Unjustified Use of Excessive Force
The rules regarding what an officer must do while making an arrest vary by jurisdiction. Generally, an arrest happens when the person being arrested reasonably believes that she is not free to leave. The officer need not use handcuffs, or place the arrestee in a police cruiser, although police often use these tactics to protect themselves.
Police aren't allowed to use excessive force or treat the arrestee cruelly; this is universal and protected by the U.S. Constitution. Generally, police officers are only allowed to use the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves and bring the suspect into police custody.[2] However, in the current situation, the officer in charge used a conscious neck restraint technique which shall only be used if the accused is actively resisting according to the Minneapolis Officer’s Training Manual.
WHY THE OFFICERS FIRED FOR THE FLOYD KILLING COULD ULTIMATELY GET THEIR JOBS BACK?
The four officers might have been terminated but that doesn’t mean they’re permanently losing their badges. Officers in the US are frequently rehired after their termination for misconduct, a problem that increases the likelihood of abuse and killings by police. That’s how policing works across America.
The officers are provided with every opportunity to clear their name and regain everything they’ve lost – their reputation, their status and their jobs even if in this case the main officer Mr Chauvin already has had a history of misconduct with 17 complaints and 3 shootings out of which 1 was fatal and the other officer present who restricted the civilians to come close, Mr Tou Thao who has had 6 complaints out which one has been a brutality lawsuit it won’t affect their chances at life. The family has to endure disappointment after disappointment.
INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENTS
BlackLivesMatter Foundation
It was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.[5]
George Floyd’s violent death was a breaking point — an all too familiar reminder that, for Black people, law enforcement doesn’t protect or save our lives. They often threaten and take them. The organisation demands real transformation NOW as mentioned on their website. The transformation that will hold law enforcement accountable for the violence they inflict, a transformation of this racist system that breeds corruption, and transformation that ensures our people are not left behind.
HOW THE COUNTRY REACTED?
There have been protests throughout the country. People are on the streets demanding changes in the law and justice for Floyd and many others like him. People have resorted to the motto of ‘No Justice, No Peace’ which has created havoc throughout. However, on the democratic level of the states as individuals,
- Kansas Governor Laura Kelly pushes back on Trump threat to deploy the military to curb the protests
- Miami police knelt on their knees in front of the protestors asking for forgiveness
- Pentagon raises security to 2nd highest level during civil unrest
- DC's Kennedy Center will dim its lights for 9 nights to honour George Floyd
- The POTUS[6] has been given security in a bunker in the White House seeing the unrest in the city.
HOW THE WORLD REACTED?
UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned the death of a man at the hands of police, urging that the US authorities must take serious action to stop such killings and to ensure justice is done when they do occur. Procedures must change, prevention systems must be put in place, and above all police officers who resort to excessive use of force should be charged and convicted for the crimes committed," she said. "The role that entrenched and pervasive racial discrimination plays in such deaths must also be fully examined, properly recognized and dealt with."
Several thousand people marched in New Zealand to protest the killing of George Floyd in the U.S. as well as to stand up against police violence and racism in their own country.
The protesters in Auckland marched to the U.S. Consulate, where they kneeled. They held banners with slogans like “I can’t breathe” and “The real virus is racism.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi urged the U.S. government and police to stop the violence. “To American officials and police: Stop violence against your people and let them breathe,” He also told the American people that “the world is standing with you.”
At a gathering in central London on Sunday, thousands offered support for American demonstrators, chanting “No justice! No peace!” and waving placards with the words “How many more?”
In Brazil, hundreds of people protested crimes committed by the police against black people in Rio de Janeiro’s working-class neighbourhoods, known as favelas. Police used tear gas to disperse them, with some demonstrators saying “I can’t breathe,” repeating Floyd’s own words.
In Canada, an anti-racism protest degenerated into clashes between Montreal police and some demonstrators. Police declared the gathering illegal after they say projectiles were thrown at officers who responded with pepper spray and tear gas. Some windows were smashed and some fires were set.
In authoritarian nations, the unrest became a chance to undermine U.S. criticism of their own situations. Iranian state television repeatedly aired images of the U.S. unrest. Russia said the United States had systemic human rights problems.
And state-controlled media in China saw the protests through the prism of American views on Hong Kong’s anti-government demonstrations, which China has long said the U.S. encouraged.
North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Monday reported about the demonstrations, saying that protesters “harshly condemned” a white policeman’s “lawless and brutal murder” of a black citizen.
Rallies were presented as a peaceful protest against the overrepresentation of indigenous Australians in Australia's criminal justice system as well as in solidarity for Floyd who was "brutally and inhumanly murdered."
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo said Black people across the world are "shocked and distraught" by Floyd's killing. "We stand with our kith and kin in America in these difficult and trying times."
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[1] https://blacklivesmatter.com/defundthepolice/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vksEJR9EPQ8
[3] Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
[5] Supra note 1
[6] President of the United States