On Friday, the City of Minneapolis agreed to pay 27 million dollars to the family of George Floyd as compensation for his wrongful death. On May 25th 2020, the nation watched in shock as a viral video depicted officers aggressively and violently detaining George Floyd, including kneeling on his neck for an extended period of time and handcuffing him to pin him down on the ground. These brutal actions ultimately ended up causing Floyd to die at the hands of the officers. However, the reason why police arrested George Floyd in the first place only made the situation worse. Many were stunned to discover that this violent and deadly arrest was only over a 20 dollar counterfeit bill that Floyd tried to use to buy cigarettes.
This senseless killing was seen as a another instance of police brutality, racial discrimination and violence. Issues that have plagued America for decades and, with this recent killing have, only demonstrated to the public that these issues are still very apparent today. Thus, Floyd’s killing sparked activism from around the country like re-igniting the Black Lives Matter movement aiming at ending racial inequality within the country.
The compensation received by Floyd’s family was a first for the city as it was one of the largest ever handed out. However, it was also innovative in its nature as it included 500,000 dollars for the community located around the intersection where Floyd was killed, which has now been named Floyd Square. This support for the community and large monetary amount sent to Floyd's family has led to much praise especially from Benjamin Crump, a civil rights lawyer representing Floyd’s family. An NBC news article mentions how “[The settlement] was the largest pretrial settlement in a civil rights wrongful death lawsuit” and Crump states that it ‘"sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end."’ (NBC News).
However, there are some critics to the compensation. As many know, the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer accused of second-degree murder and second degree-manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, is ongoing. According to the New York Times, legal experts are claiming that this compensation will make the task of finding an impartial jury even more difficult. For days now, finding an impartial jury was already grueling as most of those interviewed for the position had already seen the video of Floyd’s death, due to the large national publicity of the killing, which could make their testimony biased. These legal experts argue that the timing of the compensation to Floyd’s family’ to Chauvin’s murder trial could not be worse. With this historical compensation agreement, Chauvin's attorneys argue that when jury candidates see the large sum of money awarded to Floyd's family, they could begin to see Chauvin's actions, in the death of Floyd, with much more magnitude which would cause them to more likely interpret these actions as unlawful and inappropriate thus, inciting bias. The New York Times mentions that “Mr. Chauvin’s lawyers might even ask for a mistrial” which could serve as another setback for those in the pursuit of legal justice.
Should this compensation agreement have been only given after Chauvin’s trial was over? Can we place a satisfactory monetary value on the lost life of a human being as compensation? Was this compensation enough or, in other words, does it accurately represent the magnitude of the response to Floyd’s death?
2 comments:
It has almost been a year since George Floyd's death and this compensation feels like one of the few small changes that have been made after many innocent murders and months of protesting. While is is true that there is no monetary value that could correct the wrong that is the loss of a human life, some of the conditions of this settlement are reassuring. For one, the renaming of Floyd Square ensures that Floyd's death will never be erased or silenced as it will continue to be taught and brought to attention through his name. It promises a more lasting effect of the BLM movement as Minneapolis will not be able to forget what happened. However, I do believe that Chauvin's trial is the biggest opportunity to make significant change.
The outcome of Chauvin's trial will set an incredibly significant precedent. It could result in a condemnation of the police or it could solidify the tradition of injustice, fear, and unreasonable death of African Americans at the hands of police that this country continues to see. If this settlement did harm the ability of this trial to proceed this could create larger issues as the shock and anger that surround Floyd's death becomes further from public/media awareness. However, it is hard to demand that Floyd's family, that is receiving this compensation, continue to wait for the possible benefit of an unpredictable trial without any comfort for Floyd's death.
Life is precious--no amount of money can replace it. However, this pretrial settlement as compensation for Floyd’s family helps right some wrongs. At a record high of $27 million, the settlement sends a valuable message. It is indicative of how the city supports the BLM movement and that the death of Floyd was completely unjustified.
The criticisms against the settlement are worthy of consideration, though. It would be problematic if the settlement would create grounds for a mistrial. Like Claire said, Chauvin’s trial is just as important because it signifies whether justice will be delivered. If Chauvin does not get punished for his actions, the BLM movement will suffer a major loss. If the police cannot be held accountable for its actions, how can people be confident that no such misconduct will reoccur and result in another senseless killing?
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