Thanks for your attempt to muddle through the madness and piece together an accurate narrative, Jay.
On my end, I've only watched the video that most all of us have seen and haven't done too much digging into the circumstances surrounding the case. So thanks for taking the time to do that.
I know how hard it is to write about these topics from a clear, yet compassionate perspective. I think you've done a good job in striking that balance.
One small thing I'd challenge is when you said Derek Chauvin was arrested "quickly." I just double checked this, he was arrested four days after Floyd's arrest.
The next part is lifted from this article: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/29/derek-chauvin-arrested-george-floyd-death-minneapolis-police-officer/
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said at the time "We have now been able to put together the evidence that we need. Even as late as yesterday afternoon, we did not have all that we needed, before saying that he was unable to speak to specific pieces of evidence and which one specifically was needed to file charges.
"This is by far the fastest that we've ever charged a police officer."
--End Article Clip--
Now, having read that, I can see how one could write as you did that the arrest was done "quickly."
But as you point out, public perception matters. And well, I think a lot of us feel that if an every day person had been filmed in an incident like this and a person had died, we'd have been arrested a lot quicker than four days.
And while it's a matter of opinion, but my own take is that the fact that it takes so long to arrest a cop in such a situation points to the Systemic issues that this case has brought to the forefront. Issues that we've all been seeing play out over and over again for a long time (I was a college freshman at USC in Los Angeles when the Rodney King verdict was announced and those LAPD members were acquitted, sparking those riots. This feels eerily similar.)
Point is, it's one of those situations where you can factually make the case that it was "quick" because, as the attorney says, it was quick ... when you compare it to how thing have BEEN done. But perhaps that's part of the problem?
Much as we don't want to rush to judgment, I'm not sure why, in this case with the city burning and the issue spreading, more of an impetus on responding quickly wasn't made. Arrest the guy within a day or two, and then work the case. That's how it's done for citizens. Not sure why it should be different for cops.
