Protesters Want Police Held Accountable in George Floyd Death The Wired Word for the Week of June 7, 2020 In the News Protests have arisen in at least 140 cities across the United States, and in London and Berlin as well, in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man who died while in Minneapolis police custody. Many of the demonstrations have been peaceful, but some have turned into violent clashes. Derek Chauvin, the police officer who kneeled on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, according to some reports, has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. In addition, the U.S. Justice Department will launch an investigation into potential violations of federal civil rights laws. In Minneapolis, protesters set fire to a police station as violence spread through the Twin Cities. Dozens of businesses boarded up their windows and doors in attempts to prevent looting. Target, which is based in Minneapolis, temporarily closed two dozen stores, and the city shut down most of its light-rail system and all of its bus service for several days, citing safety concerns. At the same time, thousands of peaceful demonstrators marched through the streets of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, calling for justice. A 20-year-old black woman named Erika Atson was among those who came together for peaceful protest. She told the Associated Press that she had been at "every single protest" since Floyd's death and was worried about raising children who could be vulnerable in encounters with the police. "We don't want to cause any damages," she said. "We just want the police officer to be held accountable." The police were called on Floyd because he was suspected of using a counterfeit bill in a store. The charge sheet does not indicate whether the police actually checked whether the bill was fake, or if they ever saw it or who had possession of it. The store owner said that Floyd "may not have even known that the bill was counterfeit." In any case, passing a counterfeit bill is not a capital offense. The Christian Science Monitor reports that a number of major city police chiefs have called the killing of Floyd "deeply disturbing" and "of concern to all Americans." But will such words lead to greater accountability among police officers? "In this case, it's good that they have a video because otherwise there would be no trouble for the officers," says David Harris, author of A City Divided: Race, Fear and the Law in Police Confrontations and a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. "And at least they got fired. But there's no guarantee of anything else. The law is slanted in favor of police." According to a Washington Post database, there were over 1,000 deaths by police in 2019. Black men are almost twice as likely to be shot by police, a number that has not changed since the death of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. For young black men in the United States, being killed by an officer is a significant mortality risk. "Black people in America are at much greater risk for instances of excessive force," said former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper to the Christian Science Monitor. "There's no way to pretty that up." Efforts to hold police officers accountable include the strengthening of decertification programs that make it harder for troubled officers to re-enter the profession. A program called EPIC (Ethical Policing Is Courageous) has been created to protect junior officers when they speak against the actions of more senior officers. In addition, videos of police misconduct are a powerful tool for reform: The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners has decided to start using the video of Floyd's death to train officers how not to detain a suspect. Another recent event shows the power of video for achieving moral clarity. In May, a white woman named Amy Cooper called the cops on a black man, Christian Cooper (no relation), and told them that an "African-American man" was "recording me and threatening myself and my dog," He was birdwatching in New York's Central Park and confronted her about letting her dog off its leash in an area where leashing is required. After his video of her call went viral, she was condemned as a racist and was fired from her job at the investment firm Franklin Templeton. She apologized to him, and he said to The View, "I do accept her apology." He condemned death threats against her and said that he was not comfortable defining someone by a single act. "She had a moment of very poor judgment -- no excusing that it was a racist act because it was a racist act -- but does that define her entire life? I don't know. Only she can tell us if that defines her entire life." More on this story can be found at these links: George Floyd Protesters Set Minneapolis Police Station Afire. Associated Press Despite Furor, Accountability Lags for Police. Here's Why It Might Change. The Christian Science Monitor Christian Cooper Says He Accepts Apology From 'Central Park Karen' Amy Cooper: 'It's a First Step.' Fox News George Floyd: How a Suspected Counterfeit $20 Bill Led to Protests Across the US. as Applying the News Story Each of us can hold each other accountable for behavior, and recent videos of violent and racist acts are clear evidence that we need to address these problems in our communities, churches and nation. Christian Cooper held Amy Cooper accountable by making a video of her call to police, and the video of the death of George Floyd may be having a similar effect. Single acts captured on video can influence conversations on race and racism around the world, and perhaps open our eyes to injustices that have long been ignored. Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion: Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion … " (For context, read 1:26-27.) According to Genesis, on the sixth day of creation God made humankind in the image and likeness of God, "male and female he created them" (v. 27). God gave humans dominion over the animals of the earth, entrusting people with responsible lordship. One of the distortions of the Bible used to justify slavery in the United States was the assertion of Southern plantation owners that slave-owning was "responsible dominion over a less fortunate, less evolved people." Dominion and dominate are closely related terms, with dominion meaning "stewardship" or "supremacy" and dominate meaning "to rule or control by superior authority or power." Questions: How is racism a violation of the image and likeness of God in a person of another race? What connection can be made between having dominion and law enforcement? How can dominion be abused? Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. (No context needed.) Isaiah was concerned about social justice and the ways in which the people of Israel mistreated the vulnerable members of the community: widows, orphans and the oppressed. The word he used for "justice" is the Hebrew word mishpat, which "has as its root meaning fairness and equity," writes pastor Steve Holloway. "When it is applied to criminal cases, justice in the Old Testament means that the judge does not take bribes and does not treat the poor worse than the rich. Most of the time, the word mishpat has to do with justice for those we might call underprivileged: widows, orphans, immigrants and the poor." Questions: What would Isaiah say about social justice in the United States today? How was George Floyd denied fairness and equity in his arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill? Where do we need to practice mishpat in our communities? What improvements could be made in police training to improve justice? Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (For context, read 4:14-30.) According to Luke, Jesus began his ministry by returning to his hometown of Nazareth and reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue. After reading about the Spirit of the Lord being upon him, he said to the people, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (v. 21). All spoke well of him until he began to speak of God's actions on behalf of foreigners such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian. Then the people tried to throw him off a cliff (v. 29). Questions: How do you understand the mission of Jesus to "let the oppressed go free" in our world today? What would "good news to the poor" look like in your community? What position would Jesus take today that might get him in trouble? 2 Corinthians 5:18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation … (For context, read 5:16-21.) The word reconciliation means dispute resolution and is typically a legal term, applied to estranged marriage partners or warring nations.