Activists are ready for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd. The trial starts on Monday, March 8. Activists gathered across the country from Massachusetts to Washington to Georgia and back to Minnesota, where the trial will take place.
In Minnesota, protestors gathered in front of the Governor’s mansion. The head of the Minnesota Justice Coalition said: ‘“We just want a fair shot. We want a fair shot without having our hands tied behind our backs, a boot on our neck or a gun to our children’s head or our own head.”
Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, was there along with others whose family members were victims of police violence. Valerie said: “we’re here to stand in unity as a visual statement to the state of Minnesota.”
Deborah Watts, a cousin of Emmett Till, said that “the past is not past until justice prevails.”
One way these protestors hope for a “fair shot” is an end to qualified immunity. Qualified immunity allows bad cops to get away with excessive force without facing a day in court. Activists are ready to end qualified immunity to bring justice for George Floyd as the Chauvin trial begins.
As Washington state activist Lacrecia “Lu” Hill said: “though Chauvin’s trial sparked this march, the outcome [will] not matter until police are not protected by qualified immunity.”