T
he Derek Chauvin trial appears to be going well, but I m not celebrating. Given the countless times police have killed Black people and not been charged, it is frustrating but true that even having a trial for a gruesome murder witnessed around the world is a small victory. But while Chauvin s trial represents the
possibility of police accountability within the legal system, his prosecution is an example of the system that produced him protecting itself. Jac Archer When we are accustomed to seeing police departments defend egregious behavior, it is at first encouraging to see the system finally call out a bad cop. But read the subtext. The prosecutors are proceeding on the bad apple theory, painting Chauvin as a uniquely bad officer who engaged in anomalously violent actions. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo the city s first Black police chief led several of his officers in testifying that Chauvin s treatmen