After the nationwide outcry about his death, the release of the video from the police panel’s camera and the nine-hour deliberation waiting for the jury, Crutcher said he was sure his family would get justice.
But when that didn’t happen, Crutcher said that she had to accept a harsh reality.
“You can have the deaths by police officers on video and they still get away with it,” said Crutcher. “The system we live in was never really designed to protect black people.”
Some say they saw lawyers paint the same bleak picture of their deceased loved ones as defense lawyers did Floyd this week, when they said that underlying health problems complicated by a drug overdose – not Chauvin’s knee pressure – killed him. .
Gwen Carr, Eric Garner’s mother, traveled to Minneapolis for the first few days of the trial to support the Floyd family. She knelt for 8 minutes and 46 seconds with Floyd’s family, lawyers and supporters outside the Minneapolis courthouse on Monday to mark the final moments of her life.
During the trial last week, it was revealed that Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
Carr told CNN that he can identify with the loss of a loved one who repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe” before dying at the hands of the police.
Still, Carr warns that the Floyd family may have to prepare for a possible acquittal.
“Don’t think this is going to be a hard hit, even if you have a video,” said Carr. “I had a video for the whole world to see and they still haven’t named a police officer in my son’s case.”
“So many times I have seen African Americans killed and no one has been convicted,” said Floyd. “We are all fighting in America, not just me. You see protesters all over the world. They are all defending George Floyd. If you can’t get justice in America for that, why can you get justice then?”
Why it’s hard to convict officers
One expert said that many of these families never get justice because it is difficult to convict a police officer for murder.
Kenneth Nunn, a professor at the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida, said prosecutors must be able to prove that a police officer was negligent, irrational and reckless when using lethal force.
Proving this is especially difficult for black victims because policing in the United States has historically been racist, since slave patrols that used violence to control the black community, said Nunn.
“I don’t think the average white judge or the average white citizen wants to see black people killed by the police,” said Nunn. “But when they see these deaths, they weigh it with ‘well, we are concerned about safety in our community, these are the people who provide this, we want to give them some leeway’.”
Families say ‘stay strong’
During the first week of the trial, onlookers testified to their horror and fear as they watched Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020. His testimony – along with striking eyewitness videos – is the backbone of the state’s case. But the families of other black men and women killed by the police have warned the Floyd family that the defense will try to defame their character.
The Terence Crutcher Foundation issued a statement on Monday warning the Floyd family that there would be “gas lighting” for the defense.
“… They will defame George and blame him for his own death, you will have to relive the terrible event over and over again,” the statement said. “But BE STRONG and know that we are with you and WE are supportive of you while you endure the unscrupulous.”
During opening remarks, defense attorney Eric Nelson cited Floyd’s use of fentanyl and methamphetamine and his heart problems as the cause of his death. He said that Floyd was resisting arrest and that Chauvin was following proper police training.
“You will learn that Derek Chauvin did exactly what he was trained to do throughout his 19-year career,” said Nelson. “The use of force is not attractive, but it is a necessary component of policing.”
“No, you can’t portray me as angry – I would say I was in a position where I needed to be controlled,” said Williams when questioned by Nelson.
A ‘manual’ that is a ‘trigger’
Tiffany Crutcher said the opening statements at the Chauvin trial made her anxious. This took her back to the trial of ex-Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby, who was acquitted of the shooting death of Terence Crutcher. Defense lawyers, she said, brought up the story of Crutcher’s drug addiction during the trial.
“This is exactly the same manual they used in my brother’s trial,” she said. “It’s sick and it’s provoking.”
Valerie Castile, Philando Castile’s mother, said that watching Chauvin’s trial was “comforting”.
Castile said he has little faith in the criminal justice system and sympathizes with the Floyd family while they attend the trial.
“You really have to have a tough skin to sit and listen to all of this,” said Castile. “Nothing surprises me with these people in Minnesota, because they’ve been getting away with it for many years.”
Jean’s sister, Allisa Charles-Findley, however, felt different. Charles-Findley said he believed Guyger deserves a life sentence for killing Jean.
“At 26, did you cut his life soon and still have the opportunity to move in?” Charles-Findley said. “You can have children, you can get married, you can do all those things that Botham will never have the opportunity to do.”
Charles-Findley said he does not believe that the criminal justice system was created to protect blacks. She encouraged the Floyd family to pray and maintain a strong support system during the trial.
“We have to protect ours, so I would definitely advise them not to get their hopes up,” she said.