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Not long after a jury convicted former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd, police chiefs across the U.S. started speaking up. And it wasn’t to defend the police.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said Chauvin’s conviction Tuesday showed “police officers are not above the law.” Charmaine McGuffey, the sheriff in Cincinnati, said it was a “necessary step” in healing a nation torn apart by police violence. Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo encouraged Americans to breathe “a collective sigh of relief.”
Law-enforcement leaders said the verdict was a step toward restoring trust in the criminal justice system and repairing relations between police and the communities they serve. It was a major departure from years past, when even the highest levels would close ranks around an officer following an on-duty killing.