What About the Cops Who Watched George Floyd Die?

[DonViejo]

Whether or not Derek Chauvin is convicted, George Floyd’s death revealed another deep policing problem: the failure of fellow officers to intervene.

By ROSA BROOKS

04/09/2021 04:30 AM EDT

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer currently on trial for the killing of George Floyd, is an all-too familiar type: a bully with a badge and gun. During his 19 years as an officer, Chauvin was the subject of a score of misconduct complaints. He kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes not because he had to, but because he could.

That the world contains sadistic, racist bullies isn’t breaking news. But, while the national media understandably puts a spotlight on Chauvin, we should not forget that three other Minneapolis police officers were also on the scene that day last May: Officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng. Their sheer passivity was, in some ways, more stunning than Chauvin’s casual cruelty. They all stood by and watched as Chauvin pressed Floyd’s face into the ground and as Floyd’s pleas for help grew increasingly desperate. Ultimately, they stood by and watched him die.

Whether or not Chauvin’s trial leads to a conviction, American police departments urgently need to implement high-quality active bystandership training programs to reduce this kind of deadly passivity. These programs can’t turn sadistic bullies into compassionate protectors, and they can’t address the deep structural problems that plague American policing. But, by giving ordinary officers concrete skills to step in to prevent abuses, such training can save lives.

Officers Thao, Lane and Kueng offer a perfect example of what psychologists call “the bystander effect.” They were paralyzed by the powerful social forces that too often operate to prevent even decent people from taking action to halt abuses.

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https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/09/derek-chauvin-cops-george-floyd-480460

[catrose]

1. I'm under the impression that they didn't just stand by, they protected Chauvin from others who

Would have intervened.

[PJMcK]

2. I hope they'll be charged after Chauvin is convicted (n/t)

[Ocelot II]

3. They have already been charged. Trials are pending.

[PJMcK]

4. Thanks

I didn't know that.

Have a great weekend, Ocelot II.

[Dustlawyer]

13. These trials for all 4 cops are extremely important!

If they all get the book thrown at them it will send a message that you better keep your fellow officers on the straight and narrow or you too will go to prison. This verdict needs to send a strong message that they finally will be prosecuted for wrongful conduct.

[BobTheSubgenius]

16. Great news that I had missed as well.

Thank you!

[blueinredohio]

5. Just think, if not for the video Chauvin would have gotten away with

this with no consequences whatsoever.

[rurallib]

14. Yes - Darnella Frazier is the name of the brave young lady who took that video

talk about courage!

[dem in texas]

6. they were fired from their jobs

[Ocelot II]

7. They will be tried together this summer.

[Jerryatric]

8. What a bunch of absolute BS.

Those monsters weren't paralyzed by any bystander effect, they participated in the murder. Two of them helped physically murder, one stood guard to make sure people couldn't interfere with the murder. They should all be locked away from decent society forever.

[marble falls]

10. You said it exactly right. Cops are not hired to be bystanders. Or murderers.

[George II]

9. Three of those have also been charged and will be going on trial in the summer.

[dlk]

11. Aiding and abetting is a crime

The other officers who aided & abetted Chauvin’s murder have culpability.

[Martin68]

12. Another factor, other than the bystander effect, was the fact that they were newbies in awe of their

more experienced colleague, And that's how violent behavior is perpetuated in a broken system. "Watch and learn, you maggots."

[Ocelot II]

15. Yup. The culture of a police department

can deter an inexperienced officer from doing the right thing and challenging a senior officer's bad behavior for fear of being ostracized, demoted, etc. If the department's culture tolerates or encourages bullying or abusing suspects, new officers will often end up going along to get along and will eventually be absorbed into the culture. This doesn't absolve them of criminal responsibility but I'm sure the issue will come up in the other officers' trial this summer.

[LiberalLovinLug]

17. I'd rather those other officers be let off....but a promise of police reform to follow

I think that while it would have been wonderful and brave for one of the officers to walk back and demand their more superior older colegue take his knee off of Floyd's neck or it may harm him, do people really expect that to happen? What if Floyd had survived, as I'm sure the other officers expected. And even IF, and God only knows, that confrontation was the only reason Floyd had survived......any younger officer would dread riding back to the station being berated for speaking out in public hearing range, against a fellow officer. They'd gain a reputation very quickly as a fellow worker not to be trusted.

I'm not defending them, but IMO, its the culture as you put it, that needs to be tackled. With better training which the US is lax at compared to most countries. Germany is an example on the other end of the scale.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/06/america-police-violence-germany-georgia-britain/612820/

Key to that challenge is revamping the training for prospective officers. Here, too, the U.S. can look to other countries for inspiration. In Germany, for example, police recruits are required to spend two and a half to four years in basic training to become an officer, with the option to pursue the equivalent of a bachelor’s or master’s degree in policing. Basic training in the U.S., by comparison, can take as little as 21 weeks (or 33.5 weeks, with field training). The less time recruits have to train, the less time is afforded for guidance on crisis intervention or de-escalation. “If you only have 21 weeks of classroom training, naturally you’re going to emphasize survival,” Paul Hirschfield, an associate sociology and criminal-justice professor at Rutgers University, told me.