Print
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.
Police chiefs across the U.S. started speaking up, DC statehood faces a crossroads with congressional vote, India is shattering global infection records and more
Originally published on April 22, 2021 8:16 am
This week, a jury convicted former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on all three counts for the murder of George Floyd. The verdict was personal for Rev. Christoppher D. Stackhouse, Sr. He’s the pastor of Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Raeford and Fayetteville, North Carolina, where George Floyd was born and he delivered the eulogy at Floyd’s memorial service in June.
Stackhouse sat down with WUNC reporter Laura Pellicer to talk about what the verdict means for North Carolina and the nation. This interview has been edited for brevity. It was a feeling of relief. Why would there be such a great sense of relief for something that should have been a given? The bar for accountability and justice is so low.
Obama urges Black Americans to keep marching, keep speaking up, keep voting By Melissa Quinn Chauvin verdict brings relief
Washington Former President Barack Obama encouraged Black Americans to keep marching, keep speaking up, keep voting to usher in progress throughout the nation after a year that was marred by the coronavirus pandemic and the deaths of unarmed Black men by law enforcement.
In an interview with BET.com published Thursday, Mr. Obama noted the challenges of 2020 can make you wonder if things will ever get better, but said that for policies to be changed, we cannot let up during these next four years.