FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2021
CONTACT:
Lindsay Kee, 615-320-7142
MINNEAPOLIS — A jury has found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd.
The following statement can be attributed to Hedy Weinberg, ACLU of Tennessee executive director:
“Today’s historic verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin brings rare accountability for police. However, one verdict will not ensure transformative justice. Achieving this outcome for George Floyd is only the first step in addressing police abuse of power, disparate treatment, and the use of excessive force against Black and Brown communities dating back to police departments’ inception as slave patrols created to monitor, control, and oppress Black communities.
“If we are ever to end this violence, we must also re-examine approaches to public safety. We must transform policing in Tennessee – ensuring alternatives to armed police officers responding to every situation, increasing accountability and transparency, and creating policies that combat racism in policing. We must remove police from low-level enforcement and reinvest in the communities that too often bear the brunt of police discrimination, harassment and violence.
“We remain committed in our fight to end racist police violence, and to ensure fair treatment, systemic equity and true justice for all Tennesseans.”
