deescalation because we recognize that police officers are called in when people are not having their best day, when people might be affected by mental illness, drug abuse, any number of issues. they are just having a bad day and trained for that and should be. they are taught how to use that to deescalate and control a situation. they are taught medical intervention. they are taught to provide medical attention to people who need it. being a police officer is a difficult job. we ask a lot of them. it s a profession, there s no doubt about it. we give them a substantial amount of training and most officers do it right. this case wasn t about police officers, all police officers. it wasn t about policing.
know, other matters that i think are involved in sentencing and where we are in the criminal justice system. in the processing of this case. as a member of an elected office representing the people of the state of minnesota, as well as people of the local community, i want to say a couple things. and first of all i want to really thank some of the police officers in the minneapolis police department who under great pressure, great stress, some extent to their occupations what they devoted their life to. stuck to their oath and their commitment as police officers to speak openly and honestly about policing and the training that
it wasn t about policing. this case was about derek chauvin disregarding all that training he received and assaulting mr. floyd until he suffocated to death. one of the things that you heard, your honor, and the jurors heard that can really encapsulate a big a very important issue here. seven words. in your custody is in your care. and it s a he real simple mantra. it s a real easy thing to remember. if it you re going to take custody of somebody, you have to provide care. you have to do it in a caring way. you can t simply disregard their care. mr. chauvin abused his position of trust and authority as a police officer by doing just that. just disregarding all the training. it was an abuse of that.
closure in this matter. on that point about policing, has the national urban league seen a marked or discernible change in the way police conduct themselves following the chauvin verdict? it s difficult to measure, geoff. what is clear is that there have been continued killings of unarmed african-american men that the rate of unconstitutional acts does not seem to be significantly dissipating. what has changed is that there is now movement in many communities because of public pressure, because of public outcry to change policing. to reenvision it and reimagine it. and key, i think, is going to be whether the congress, particularly the republican caucus, shows the leadership and the courage to embrace a strong george floyd justice and policing bill. we ve been intimately involved in those discussions and conversations and they continue.
are called in when people are not having are called in when people are not having their best day. when people move having their best day. when people move might be affected by mental illness, move might be affected by mental illness, drug abuse, any number of issues illness, drug abuse, any number of issues that illness, drug abuse, any number of issues that having a bad day and they are issues that having a bad day and they are trained for that. and they should they are trained for that. and they should be they are trained for that. and they should be. they are taught how to use that should be. they are taught how to use that to should be. they are taught how to use that to de escalate and control the situation. they are taught medicat the situation. they are taught medical interventions, they are taught medical interventions, they are taught to medical interventions, they are taught to provide medical attention to people taught to provide medical attention to