Floyd verdict won’t remove blocks to police accountability

A demonstrator places flowers at a memorial outside Cup Foods as supporters gather to celebrate the murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (John Minchillo, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The guilty verdicts in the George Floyd murder case felt like a watershed moment to many Americans. President Biden called the verdicts a “giant step toward justice.”

But pervasive legal roadblocks to police accountability remain firmly in place. Legal experts say most police officers who violate citizens’ rights get away with it because the law is heavily stacked in their favor.

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None of those legal roadblocks was removed by the guilty verdicts against Derek Chauvin. Abusive police are seldom prosecuted and those prosecuted usually aren’t convicted. Police kill about 1,000 people each year, but few are punished.