Where’s the Reckoning For Jamal Mitchell?

Four years ago, George Floyd, a violent felon who was six foot – four and weighed 220 pounds, was resisting arrest when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin restrained him by kneeling on his neck for nine and a half minutes. Floyd, who had a history of crying and calling for mercy in past arrests, did the same here, but in this case Chauvin’s actions really did result in Floyd’s death.

Chauvin was appropriately charged, convicted and sent to prison for what will likely be most of his remaining life. Other officers, who were simply present, were also sent to prison. I’m less convinced of the justice of that.

Floyd’s rap sheet included the sale and possession of large quantities of controlled substances. This was the same George Floyd who in 2007 forcibly entered a home to steal drugs and money. In the course of the robbery Floyd placed a gun on a woman’s abdomen, allowed her to be pistol whipped by an accomplice and demanded drugs and money. Floyd was convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

George Floyd was a victim, but he was no hero. Neither was Derick Chauvin, who had a record of abusive behavior. But Floyd’s killing at the hands of Chauvin resulted in protests, some of them violent in themselves, and an ongoing national “reckoning” with racism. Perhaps that held some promise, but activists squandered the opportunity with their off-putting calls for defunding the police.

Fast forward four years and consider the case of Jamal Mitchell. Another Black man, Mitchell had been a Minneapolis cop for only a year-and-a-half when he was ambushed and murdered last week. Responding to reports of a shooting, Mitchell stopped to aid a wounded man, who then shot Mitchell and kept firing until he knew he was dead. Mitchell, in only his third day on the job, had been recognized for bravery when he and another officer entered a burning building to save a family. That’s the kind of man he was. He was also a father and engaged to be married.

And yet, there has been a near beatification for George Floyd, while not a single protester has shown up to protest or even express sorrow for the killing of Jamal Mitchell. Why not honor a man like Jamal Mitchell instead of a man like George Floyd? Both were Black men and both were murdered. But Floyd was a victim while Mitchell was a hero.

Floyd’s daughter went to the White House to meet with Pres. Joe Biden. Don’t expect Mitchell’s child to get the same invitation. This is a big part of the reason that my party loses more elections than it should. The Democrats are viewed as the party of George Floyd, not Jamal Mitchell.

The Minneapolis Police Department, which had 800 officers before the Floyd case, now has 540. The Madison department, which once had hundreds more qualified applicants than it had open positions, has found itself in recent years without enough qualified applicants to fill the slots.

Ever wonder why?