Floyd ruling spurs justice cry for Jamaican slain by cop
Published:Monday | April 26, 2021 | 12:14 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
“Raw and emotional.”
That is how Maurice Gordon, Sr viewed the trial and verdict of ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty last week on three counts of murdering George Floyd.
Gordon, whose son was shot and killed last year by a New Jersey state trooper during a traffic stop, said that he is still awaiting closure in that tragedy. The Jamaican was shot two days before Floyd’s killing.
“They have used the pandemic to drag out the case regarding my son. A grand jury is still yet to be empanelled to look into his killing,” said Gordon Sr.
He said that, while he is satisfied with the Floyd jury verdict, he was still leery about the final outcome, with the June 16 sentencing almost eight weeks away.
“I have sons in the United States and I have to worry about whether they will go out and come back alive,” Gordon Sr told The Gleaner.
“I have fears about their safety.”
Maurice Gordon, Jr, 28, who migrated from Jamaica when he was 19, was shot several times by Sergeant Randall Wetze on May 23, 2020.
Gordon Sr said he avoided watching much of the Floyd murder trial because it brought back memories of his son’s killing.
Floyd’s murder last May in Minneapolis, after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, set off a wave of Black Lives Matter protests across the United States, galvanising support for the defunding of police forces and demands for racial justice.
Black Americans are three times more likely to be fatally shot by the police, a study reviewing data from 2015-2020 revealed.
The findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health last October, indicated that 51 per cent of police shooting casualties were white, while 27 per cent were black.
African Americans represent only 14 per cent of the population.
Gordon Sr said that the killing of young black men has unveiled the dark side of the United States.
“I am someone who likes to keep up with the news and what is happening, but I just could not watch the trial,” he said of the Floyd proceedings.
“It is difficult. My son’s case is still unresolved.”
Chauvin’s guilty verdict was welcomed by leaders across the Jamaican diaspora, who said that justice was delivered.
Jamaican Congresswoman Yvette Clarke of Brooklyn said that the Chauvin ruling was “a proud day for America”.
“This verdict is a start – and the sentencing must match the egregious nature of the crime – but it does not absolve Congress and the federal government of our responsibility to reform policing across the country, and it is a reminder of the need for the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act.
“Black lives still, and always, will matter!” she said.
Jamaica-born New York State Assemblyman N. Nick Perry said that, while he welcomed the conviction, there was still more work to be done.
“While I applaud the verdict of guilty on all three charges, as we celebrate, we should be careful not to fool ourselves, and fully understand that the struggle for freedom and equality in America has really just begun.
“Inspired by the memory of martyrs like George Floyd, Emmett Till, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, and so many others, we must resolve to never give up, and never relent in our call to push America to the day when the colour of one’s skin will never again be the measure of one’s rights and dignity,” said Perry.
Vice-chair of the Democratic Party for Florida, the Rev Dr Karen Green, also viewed the guilty verdict as a strike against injustice. Green said that police officers who betray their oath must be held accountable.
“This is but a first step. There is still much more to be done to achieve racial parity before the justice system. I hope that, as we celebrate this verdict, we do not lose sight of the struggle ahead, if we are to hold rogue police officers accountable,” Green said.