PRESS

In July 2011, the National Black Prosecutors’ Association hosted its 28th Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The conference titled “Accountability to Public Service, Commitment to Justice, Empowering the Community,” included Honorary Chairpersons Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota B. Todd Jones, Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman, and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. We hosted a Chief Prosecutors’ Roundtable, discussed “Prosecutorial Discretion and Immunity,” and the “Economics of Race and Crime.” Nine years later, the issues then-addressed in the abstract have been painfully realized through the brutal slaying of George Floyd by those sworn to protect and serve.

As prosecutors, we are keenly aware that the power of prosecutorial discretion is an incredible power—one that can be used to advance justice or to undermine it. As black prosecutors, we must acknowledge the prejudicial impact of systemic racism and implicit bias on the criminal justice system. It is telling that despite countless killings of black Minnesotans by police, the only conviction secured in decades involved an incident where a black officer shot and killed a white resident.[1]

While today’s news cycles are primarily focused on Mr. George Floyd, Ms. Breonna Taylor, and Mr. Armaud Arbery, we recognize that these incidents represent only three of the thousands of unjustified slayings of black men and women in recent history. The factors that led to these tragic deaths are not unique to Minneapolis; they are rampant throughout the country. Accordingly, we implore our nation’s police chiefs to (1) invest in de-escalation training, sensitivity training, and ongoing implicit bias training, (2) commit to the removal of police officers that exhibit violent tendencies towards the communities they serve; and (3) eradicate methods of policing that target poor, black communities.

We must do better. Black families should not dread the day their sons and daughters cross the threshold from charming to threatening simply by virtue of their skin tone. We call on the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the MPD, and law enforcement officers in Minnesota and throughout the country to rise up for the sake of justice, for the sake of progress, and for the sake of peace. To those who have allowed implicit bias to fatally cloud judgment, acknowledge your bias and cast it aside, and commit to protecting and serving all citizens. The nation and the world are watching.

Yours In Service,
The NBPA Communications Committee

[1] The Guardian, “George Floyd killing: two officers involved previously reviewed for use of force.” Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/28/george-floyd-killing-officers-derek-chauvin-tou-thao-investigated