By Mia Machado
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — After the jury in Minneapolis convicted former cop Derek Chauvin of all three counts, including second and third degree murder, in the killing of George Floyd May 25, 2020, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin asserted “there remains a tremendous amount of work to do as a nation to hold police accountable. But accountability is only the end of the story.”
While relieved by the verdict, DA Boudin expressed that “it does not heal the pain George Floyd’s family has suffered. Nor does it alleviate the grief of the family of Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo and the families of so many more Black and Brown people who have been killed or hurt by police.
“Prosecutions and convictions like this one are exceedingly rare. We must continue to work to end the systemic racism that remains in our legal system and must continue to hold officers who break the trust we place in them accountable,” he added.
Boudin said the verdict against Derek Chauvin does little to remedy a long history of impunity for police who commit crimes in the U.S. Despite the documentation of about one-thousand police killings a year, only seven officers who shot people have been convicted of murder in more than 15 years.
California in particular has seen more than 60 people killed at the hands of police since the Chauvin trial began on March 29. These killings have also been
disproportionately people of color.
The verdict came just as AB 127, which District Attorney Boudin cosponsored, passed through the California Assembly Committee on Public Safety. Authored by Senator Sydney Kamlager, AB 127 would make it easier to secure arrest warrants against officers who break the law.
A barrier in prosecuting police officers lies in the frequent unwillingness of law enforcement officers to assist in the prosecution of one of their own. This can lead to law enforcement officers refusing to provide the necessary information to support an arrest warrant. The bill would expand who can attest to probable cause for arrest of a peace officer.
“As the George Floyd murder reminds us, we must work to remove barriers to police accountability,” explained District Attorney Boudin.
Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for around nine minutes as he struggled to breathe and cried for help. Chauvin had faced at least 17 prior complaints during his time on the police force, including police brutality. He was involved in numerous officer-involved shootings, in one of which he fatally shot someone.
It was this lack of accountability—despite complaints, violent incidents, and at least one reprimand—that allowed Chauvin to remain on the police force and kill George Floyd, note police brutality critics.
Following the murder of George Floyd, DA Boudin implemented numerous policies to promote police accountability.
DA Boudin worked on a resolution with co-sponsor and President of the Board of Supervisors, Shamann Walton, to prevent the hiring of officers with prior, serious misconduct. He created an internal policy to refuse the prosecution of cases relying on the uncorroborated word of an officer with known misconduct.
He worked to limit the influence of law enforcement unions by calling on the California Bar to address the conflict of interest that exists when prosecutors accept support from the same unions whose officers those prosecutors will investigate for use of force incidents.
He has also fought to protect the rights of victims and the families of victims of police violence. DA Boudin implemented a first-in-the-state policy to offer compensation to victims of police violence for expenses such as funeral and burial costs. Just last week, he co-sponsored SB 299, which would offer such protections statewide.
DA Boudin has also led historic prosecutions against police officers since taking office in January of 2020.
These include the first-ever homicide prosecution against an on-duty officer in San Francisco’s history. District Attorney Boudin has also worked to combat racism within the criminal legal system, including through a policy to refuse to file contraband charges that stemmed from racist pretextual stops.
While police accountability is paramount, DA Boudin asserted that “accountability is only the end of the story.
“As the recent killing of Daunte Wright reminds us, our country and our city over-rely on police to respond to incidents that do not require the assistance of armed officers—often with tragic results. We must reimagine policing in our city and in our nation and ensure that we prioritize our limited resources to promoting public safety through public health, housing, and health care,” said DA Boudin.
Mia Machado is a junior at UC Davis, currently majoring in Political Science-Public Service and minoring in Luso-Brazilian studies. She is originally from Berkeley, California.
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