Derek Chauvin was a "Bad Cop"

There is a lot of debate around references to “a few bad cops.” As a sociologist, we think a lot about the "level of analysis." So, think of the "bad cops" as a nested structure.

First, yes, there are bad cops. Derek Chauvin was a bad cop. Many people watched him kneel on George Floyd for 8 ½ minutes, including three minutes in which he was unresponsive (I admit, that I could not watch). But the video showed that the bad cop killed George Floyd through asphyxiation.

But, Derek Chauvin was part of a bad unit. He had three officers who stood by and did nothing, despite their purpose to protect and serve. So, the bad police unit allowed the bad cop to murder George Floyd.

And these cops, were part of a bad department. That department’s leaders sent Chauvin out to protect and serve, despite his previous involvement in three other shootings. So, the bad department sent the bad unit with the bad cop to murder George Floyd.

This bad department was part of a bad criminal justice system in Minneapolis who continued to promote and push an agenda that disproportionately criminalized Black and Brown bodies. This justice system includes judges, courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and a prison system that mistreat people of color. This bad justice system hired, funded and maintained the department that sent the bad unit with the bad cop to murder George Floyd.

But also, the bad cop, in the bad unit, from the bad department from the bad justice system was protected by a union who fought to enable the bad cop to shoot more people of color. So, the bad union supported and enabled the bad justice system to employ the bad department to send the bad unit with the bad cop to murder George Floyd.

But the bad unions within the bad criminal justice system received its funding direction from a federal and state criminal justice industry that provides millions of dollars to support the purchase of military style weapons and equipment by these bad criminal justice systems, to arm and enable the bad criminal justice systems with the bad departments, bad units and bad cops to murder George Floyd.

And this federal and state political system were approved by members of Congress and Presidents of both political parties, who have been campaigning on “law and order” for over a generation. They voted to support funding for the bad criminal justice industry to sell products to the bad criminal justice systems who provided them to the bad departments, the bad units and bad cops to kill George Floyd.

Meanwhile, there are and explosion of bad television shows like “Cops,” and bad movies that glorify the militarization of the police, that help to convince the public of a narrative that we need these cops to keep us safe, thereby giving cover to bad politicians who support the bad industry who provide material support to the bad criminal justice systems who fund the bad departments to send bad units with bad cops to kill George Floyd.

And this violent media, we all watch it. So, its a bad culture that sees violence as entertainment. So, yeah, there are a few bad cops out there. But dig deeper. Derek Chauvin did not act alone.