This week has been a difficult one for this country. An innocent man was needlessly killed in a fit of defiant anger. The anger of a police officer. And it was caught on video. Courageous bystanders pleaded with police to stop. The victim begged for his life with words we’re all too used to hearing now: “I can’t breathe.”

So why didn’t Derek Chauvin stop? Why did he choose to double down on George Floyd instead of giving him and bystanders the benefit of the doubt? Why did he treat George Floyd like he was a piece of trash in the street? Was it because George was black? Was it because police are out of control? Or was it something more?

I believe it’s a matter of basic respect. As a civil rights and personal injury attorney I’ve prosecuted and defended cases like this most of my career. I’m in the Bronx. I see the same thing over and over. A lack of respect for citizens. A class system that elevates law enforcement over the people it is sworn to protect. I watch police brutality videos from across the U.S. every day. It’s my job. It’s enlightening. It’s horrifying. 

One of the most important things I do as a civil rights attorney is protect people who are the victim of police brutality. Many of my cases are people of color. I’ve seen situations where police treat citizens like animals. Worse than animals. In almost every case there’s an unspoken problem at the core of why this is happening. Officers who dehumanize their suspect. Dehumanize the public. Choosing to separate themselves. They are cops, you are nothing.  Your neck, my knee. The video of George Floyd dying couldn’t prove that point any more clearly.

Of course police aren’t all like that. I know some great ones. Some of them have my total respect. They have really hard jobs. But somehow law enforcement leadership has created a culture that makes it too easy for the weaker ones to slip into brutality. To slip into anger, into racism. To develop an “us vs. them” mentality that breeds a default to violence. And then leadership and fellow officers defend it. Acting as what can only be described as a gang. Right down to attacking anyone who speaks up against it. 

You know what I’m talking about. How many times have you seen angry commenters defending police when others are trying to make a statement about bad behavior? Instead of railing on the ones fighting against police brutality, their energy would be better used as part of the solution. Having a moral compass and calling out officers that are losing theirs. Voting out politicians that frivolously generate laws and penalties that provide opportunities for targeting and incarcerating the public. Voting out politicians that defend police brutality. The angry citizens criticizing police aren’t the problem. 

Police departments defending the theft of a man’s life. That’s a problem. Pro-law-enforcement politicians prioritizing police over citizens. Yep, another problem. Officers putting on a uniform and forgetting they’re human. Forgetting you’re human. It’s more than a problem. It’s despicable. That’s why there are protests. That’s why citizens are throwing objects at police cars and burning down police stations.

Because of George Floyd. And more than George Floyd. Because something in the system is rotten and citizens are refusing to allow it to continue. More and more we see police culture lack respect for humans. Why do you think we had to mandate police body cameras? It wasn’t because police brutality was an isolated incident.

Where will this take us as a country? We saw this level of protests with Eric Garner. It’s been almost 30 years since Rodney King. Is it the beginning of a greater resistance to law enforcement? Is it a rebellion against government overreach and the militarization of police departments?

Maybe it’s the cracks starting to show in a system that benefits when average citizens are criminalized. A system that forces African Americans to take the brunt of bad policing. A system that looks the other way when a man is casually murdered on the street.

This week’s protests are the tip of the iceberg. The public is only getting stronger against police brutality, racist and oppressive laws, and violations of civil rights. This moment can become a turning point for police brutality and civil rights. We all just have to stay vigilant in pressuring law enforcement to breed a respect for humanity and a deference to the people. Until then I’ll be here fighting against police brutality. Demanding a respect for civil rights. Respect for every human.