When police kill people, they are rarely prosecuted and hard to convict

[DonViejo]

Mark Berman 19 hrs ago

The footage has played multiple times inside the downtown Minneapolis courtroom where Derek Chauvin is on trial for murder, showing George Floyd, a Black man, gasping for air under the White police officer’s knee.

That video is the centerpiece of the case against Chauvin, which prosecutors emphasized by urging jurors to “believe your eyes.”

But prosecutors face a steep legal challenge in winning a conviction against a police officer. Despite nationwide protests, police are rarely charged when they kill someone on duty. And even when they are, winning convictions is often difficult.

Between 2005 and 2015, more than 1,400 officers were arrested for a violence-related crime committed on duty, according to data tracked by Philip M. Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University. In 187 of those cases, victims were fatally injured in shootings or from other causes. The officers charged represent a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of police officers working for about 18,000 departments nationwide.

more/NO PAYWALL

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/when-police-kill-people-they-are-rarely-prosecuted-and-hard-to-convict/ar-BB1firub

[Towlie]

1. I worry that the jury might not convict Derek Chauvin for fear of police retribution.

 
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It's patently obvious that Chauvin is a cold-blooded murderer but the prosecution needs to convince all of the jurors that they'll be safe.

[Demsrule86]

2. I believe such cops need to be charged federally...make excessive force and murder if you are

a policeman a federal crime...take it away from local DA's who work with these cops.