A hero in the horrible George Floyd murder

By now most everyone knows that Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis policeman who killed George Floyd by squeezing his neck with his knee for 9 minutes and 29 seconds not allowing him to breathe, has been found guilty by a jury of his peers for the murder of Mr. Floyd on May 20 of last year. I am not a lawyer or pretend to be one, but for what I saw (and I spent hours watching the trial of Mr. Chauvin), the prosecution in this case did a tremendous job outlining, step by step, how this police officer slowly killed a Black man with no regard for his well-being, even after the suspect had been restrained by four police officers.

All I can add is that the decision was just. Thank God!

But in the end one of the persons most responsible for assuring this outcome — the correct one — belongs to a 17-year-old girl who lived minutes from the scene of the crime. Darnella Frazier had gone to Cup Food, the convenience store where George Floyd allegedly paid with a false $20 bill that ultimately led to his murder. When she saw what was occurring, Ms. Frazier immediately grabbed her smart phone and began recording the horrible events of that day. She would later post it on social media, which led to a national reaction to the murder of a Black man by a white policeman. 

If not for that video, I am not sure we would be celebrating justice served today. For that reason I take the time to congratulate this poor young woman, who testified during the trial that she felt guilty, and having a hard time dealing with the thought of not having done more to help George Floyd while he was slowly being murdered on the floor in front of her…

To Darnella, I say, if there is a hero in this sad story, it is you, who had the courage and foresight to videotape a crime being committed by a policeman.

We thank you Darnella.