It just keeps coming and coming. I am not one who believes ACAB. I think that way of thinking is structurally indistinguishable from thinking that Blacks and Brown people are inherently criminal. When you start lumping everyone into a single group that is bad, society falls apart.
But Jesus.
The law - to be seen as legitimate - must BE legitimate and enforced fairly. Body cams are, perhaps, making a difference in holding men like Officers Gutierrez accountable by losing their jobs, but that can't bring people back to life.
The incident in Minnesota plays out against the background of the Chauvin trial. I lived in LA during the Rodney King riots, and I remember when the jury came back being shocked that the jury acquitted those officers. Unlike most cases against cops, the Chauvin prosecution has been thorough and rigorous. It is tough for outside observers to see him as anything but guilty. Even conservative/fascist outlets have been distancing themselves from him.
But if one juror acquits... Cities will burn and it will be hard to argue they shouldn't. If Chauvin isn't guilty than cops have a license to kill and the laws are meaningless.
UPDATE: Matt Yglesias takes a nuanced view on sentencing and criminal justice reform. To the degree that it intersects with the above, it is that we are trapped in outmoded ways of thinking about crime and punishment. I'm not sure how we get to "better policing" given the current status of policing in America.
UPDATE 2: This is good analysis from Adam Silverman about how - aside from the awful mistake of drawing her Glock instead of her Tazer - the officer who killed Daunte Wright needlessly escalated the situation over a fucking misdemeanor.
UPDATE 3: Paul Campos would like to remind everyone that American police kill all sorts of different people - not just Black people - way more than they should.
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