JCPA Statement on Conviction of the Police Officer Who Killed George Floyd

No verdict can bring George Floyd back or make his family and friends fully whole for their loss. And there is still much more work to be done.

New York, NY — The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) believes today’s verdict convicting Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd last year, on all three counts, including second- and third-degree murder, is an initial step toward accountability, justice, and healing.

We echo the sentiment expressed by JCPA’s member agency, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas: “While no guilty verdict can bring George Floyd back or make his family and friends fully whole for their loss or unwind the trauma inflicted on the broader African American community, we hope that today’s decision brings some measure of justice, healing, and peace to his loved ones and for all Minnesotans.” (Click here to read their statement.)

Police violence, lack of accountability, and systemic racism existed long before police killed George Floyd and continue to persist today. This trauma and violence will continue unless we reimagine public safety and follow through on real, structural change to our policing systems and our conception of public safety.

JCPA will continue to work with its partners across Black communities to transform law enforcement practices and structures and invest in community well-being. The Senate must join the House in passing, at the very least, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which sets minimum standards for law enforcement practices and policies regarding use of force, police accountability, racial profiling, militarization, data collection, qualified immunity, and training.