Racial bias dogs US white police officers

Former Minnesota police officer Kimberly Potter was sentenced to two years, 16 months in prison and 8 months under supervision, for killing a black motorist Daunte Wright on April 11, 2021, for resisting arrest. Potter warned that she was using a Taser, but she had mistakenly used her hand gun. Wright was 20. Potter is 49.

A Minnesota jury found Potter guilty in December 2021. Judge Regina Chu accepted the defence argument that it was a mistake on the part of Potter, that her 26-year service in the police was clean. The family and lawyers of Wright were unhappy. There were protests in December over the shooting of Wright and the police had to use tear gas. The Wright killing followed the death of George Floyd in May 2020 when white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against the victim for nine minutes even when Floyd was crying out that he could not breathe.

Chauvin’s was a deliberate act of cruelty towards Floyd. Judge said that Potter had committed a “tragic mistake”. But she did not accept the defence plea that Potter should be sentenced and given probation. Chu said, “Rightfully, there should be some accountability.” The prosecutors had asked for a seven-year imprisonment for Potter as provided in legislation. But Chu exercised her discretion.

Chu was moved by the tearful court statement of Potter addressing the Wright family, “I am sorry that I hurt you badly. My heart is broken and devastated for all of you.” Katie Wright said outside the courthouse after the judgment, “Kim Potter murdered my son on April 11. Today the justice system murdered him all over again. White woman justice trumped justice.”

The ingrained racial prejudice has been dogging white police officers in America for a long time. This was revealed in the attitude and behaviour of Chauvin. But there are also genuine mistakes as in the case of Potter. But at the end of it, two black men died. Justice required that the behaviour of Chauvin and Potter must be distinguished, and Judge Chu did that. But for the family of Wright, the two years sentencing of Potter cannot provide any solace. The change in attitude of white police officers towards black offenders must change, and where they commit an excess, either intentionally as in the case of Chauvin, or mistakenly as in the case of Potter, they need to be punished appropriately. But the anguish and anger of blacks over the attitudes of white officers remains and it is justified.

The other aspect of the bitter race relations between the whites and blacks is that most of the blacks are poor and they have a criminal record of various degrees. But in the cases of Floyd and Wright, what caused their death was the apprehension of the white officers, especially in the case of Wright.

This miscommunication between the two groups can only be lessened if the image of the poor black man of being prone to violence is removed. And the effort has to be made from both the sides. The white police officers have to be less cruel towards the black men they arrest. It is this fear of cruelty that drives the black men to desperate acts.

It is indeed a tragic situation, and this problem is accentuated in some of the mid-western states like Minnesota. There is a crying need for the community leaders from both sides to come together and create a communication channel between the two sides. The other solution is to have more black police officers which could instil confidence in the blacks.