Crisis Intervention: Why George Floyd Died?

is the ultimate question the trial of Derek Chauvin is attempting to answer. However, the trial won’t even come close.

I’ve been watching (via CSPAN 2, i.e.sans commentary).

He Was Murdered

is the State’s argument. In essence that case is: We (= the Minneapolis Police Department) are good, and the individual (= Officer Derek Chauvin) is bad. Our (MPD) policies and training are up-to-date, progressive, and have only the well-being of everyone involved considered. And therefore:

Don’t riot and burn our city down

because we (= the State and the system) are good people, too. We want justice. [Really?]

Truth

is the fly in the ointment. Chauvin was doing his job to the best of his ability. He may well be an ___ (fill in the blank). However, his response was “appropriate”. I put the word in quotes because I have no use for that word. The MPD manual/training uses the word “reasonable”. [With regard to who’s interest?]

Okay. Who decides? In a life and death situation? Or is/was it?

My Experience

was some twenty-five years ago.

I was the authority, the person in charge, of a small group (6) of children in a process of re-socialization.

I’d taken them into the Wild Basin of Rocky Mountain Park. Because I believed that the wilderness experience could contribute to an enhanced sense of Self and integration with the world at large.

One child, an extremely difficult one, “chose” to run – into the wild. Given that I knew of a recent instance of a cougar snatching, killing, and eating a child on that very trail … . I “decided” to pursue her and use “appropriate/reasonable” force to restrain her.

I was successful. However, said child screamed: “Child abuse! rape!” On lookers were horrified.

Training

matters. Nevertheless, so does everything else. Meaning personality, skills, athleticism, intelligence, and so on and so forth. As well as context. In other words, the 5 W’s.

The idea that a/all “trained” individuals will respond to a situation according to the manual is almost insane.

Therapeutic Crisis Intervention

is different than police intervention.

I was trained (1996)

in the above; but the similarities are real. Furthermore, human stress/emotional responses haven’t changed.

Here is the current MPD model:

Why George Floyd Died?

is not a question for the legal system.

It is a question of: Who and what we (humans) are? [see Election 2016.] And so much more.

To be continued …