Yesterday in Minneapolis a jury convicted officer Derek Chauvin of second degree murder (and of two other charges as well) in the killing of George Floyd this past May.  The scene of gratuitous, lethal cruelty was filmed by a bystander.  The conviction of a police officer is very, very rare.  The New York Times writes this morning,

There have been only seven murder convictions of officers for fatal police shootings since 2005, according to Philip Stinson of Bowling Green State University. That suggests the chances of a killing by the police leading to a murder conviction are about one in 2,000.

And this event in Columbus, Ohio even as the trial of Chauvin was coming to a conclusion.

(CNN) A Columbus, Ohio, police officer shot and killed a Black teenager Tuesday afternoon after she attempted to cut two females with a knife, according to officials and body camera footage shown to the media.
The girl’s mother, Paula Bryant, and the Franklin County Children Services identified her as Ma’Khia Bryant. Although local law enforcement identified her as 15 years old at a news conference Tuesday, the FCCS gave the girl’s age as 16 and said she was a foster child in its care.

“We know based on this footage, the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said at the news conference. “But a family is grieving tonight and this young 15-year-old girl will never be coming home.”

The shooting happened about 30 minutes before the verdict was delivered in the killing of George Floyd. A jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of all three charges against him.

To read the whole story, CLICK HERE.

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It is high time that police officers be held accountable for summarily using deadly force against individuals of color, — as if we are living in a strongman governed state.  We cannot allow agents of the state to behave as if citizens of color are designated as outsiders, enemies of the state.  Full stop.

Yes, I mean to write the above with vehemence.