A Year Since George Floyd: What Has Changed
Carla Paz-Almonte
It has been a year since George Floyd was brutally murdered in front of the entire nation and there have been few improvements.
Millions of people have protested worldwide, and every American has felt the impact of his death. Even with the efforts presented by countless protests, American policing has not advanced to ensure a fair system.
On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. The incident was caught on video by Darnella Frazier. The video displays the brutality of Chauvin, whose excessive force led to Floyd’s death. This video contradicted the initial report of the Minneapolis Police Department, which stated that Floyd died due to a medical incident. As a result of this unjust loss of life, there were mass protests for months.
This April, Derek Chauvin was convicted for the murder of George Floyd and faces up to 40 years in prison. The other officers involved—J. Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao—have been charged with the violation and negligence of Floyd’s rights; he was not resisting arrest and was not given proper medical care.
Many states, such as New York and Washington, passed police reform bills banning chokeholds. 39 states in total have passed significant legislation since the death of George Floyd. Major cities, including Los Angeles and Austin, cut their police budget by millions. Out of the 3,027 reforms proposed throughout the country, only 260 laws were passed while 670 failed. The murders of black people at the hands of the police have not ceased since Geoge Floyd’s death. Since the year started, there have been 371 reports of police brutality, and of those, 71 are Black. The rate of fatal police shootings is the highest amongst the Black community than any other race or ethnicity, with 36 fatal shootings per million. In the US, Black people make up 13.4% of the population.
George Floyd is one of the only victims that has been given proper justice. Other victims, such as Breonna Taylor, have not seen the justice protesters believe they deserve. On September 23rd, 2020, a grand jury decided not to charge the two officers who murdered Taylor. The jury indicted only one officer for recklessly firing into an apartment next to hers.
It is important to note that George Floyd is not a martyr. He did not die to save the world from police brutality. He is a victim of a system that excuses the murders of black people under the guise of “justice,” and he should be treated as such. Floyd’s death would have never occurred if the United States addressed its problems with policing, and the Justice System as a whole. Change is needed.
Sources:
Comments