美国国家公共电台 NPR Jury to consider the fate of 3 ex-officers in George Floyd civil rights trial

Jury to consider the fate of 3 ex-officers in George Floyd civil rights trial

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Rashawn Ray of the Brookings Institution, about the trial nearing an end for three ex-police officers charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It is up to the jury now to decide whether three former Minneapolis police officers violated George Floyd's civil rights while a fellow officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes and killed him. Thomas Lane held Floyd's legs down. J. Alexander Kueng knelt on Floyd's back. Tou Thao stopped bystanders from getting too close. This high-profile federal case is once again raising questions about policing practices in this country.

Rashawn Ray is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He also runs a virtual reality training program for law enforcement at the University of Maryland. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

RASHAWN RAY: Thank you for having me.

MARTIN: Does a civil rights trial like this one have the potential to change policing practices at a systemic level?

RAY: I think that it could. So to give people some context - we know every single year that over 1,000 people are killed by law enforcement. That is one person every eight hours. Part of what this means is it is a systemic problem. The issue is that Congress, the Senate more specifically, failed to act on police reform at the federal level. So a trial of this magnitude could send ripples² throughout not only the way that police departments and police officers operate, but also, the type of leeway that state legislatures and local municipalities feel that they have - to take changes when it comes to police reform.

MARTIN: I mean, some change has come - right? - after a growing list of Black Americans have been killed by police. Some departments have put new standards in place about when officers can use force. They've also started using body cameras more often, dashboard cams. What difference does have those changes made, and what else tangibly³ needs to be changed about policing?

RAY: Well, you're right. There's been a lot of movement at the state level and local level. I've been working with colleagues at Brookings, University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina, doing a lot of analyses to see what's happening on a broader level with police reform, particularly following the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which failed. One thing that I've noticed from my research over the years is that it's not only about the mandating⁴ of policy but also the implementation⁶ of policy. And when it comes to the issue of what happened to George Floyd, yes, it's about duty to intervene, which we're starting to see at the state and local level, but it is also about protecting officers who do intervene.

There have been incidents around the country, particularly involving Black women officers, who have been either treated unfairly, dismissed or actually brutalized themselves for intervening. We need to ensure that there are protections for officers who actually intervene, or else the culture of policing that leads to this blue wall of silence being set up - not only because they want to be beside their fellow officers but because there are real stigmatizing⁷ outcomes and effects for them actually intervening in these situations.

MARTIN: Well, that was part of the defense⁸ - right? - of one of these former police officers in Minneapolis. He said that Derek Chauvin was the ranking officer on the scene, and then he couldn't argue with him.

RAY: Look, that is real. At the University of Maryland, we've trained thousands of police officers, worked with dozens of departments in our virtual reality training program, and that is definitely a real thing. The hierarchy⁹ is there. Police departments are paramilitary organizations. And so if we're going to disrupt that, it's not only about the policy, but it's also about changing the culture. One of the things we know about Minneapolis is that even though the department had banned certain types of chokeholds and other sorts of tactics, that the Fraternal Order of Police was still engaging in a warrior-culture mentality¹⁰ and training program that led to what happening (ph) to George Floyd being normalized in that department.

MARTIN: In this federal case against these three former officers, another defense was that they weren't well-trained. Is that valid¹¹? And is there going to be any effect on police training as a result?

RAY: You know, I must be honest. I'm so tired of hearing about police officers not being well-trained. Look, I can tell you, we have observed countless¹² hours of police officers being trained. They are actually trained. The problem is that it's not about the quantity; it's about the quality of training. And when you train individuals in a punitive¹³ way, when we know nationally that officers receive over 50 hours of firearm training and less than 10 hours of de-escalation training, not to mention all of the tactics that are used to actually implement⁵ force, we get the types of outcomes that we see. Instead, we need a qualitatively¹⁴ different training process. And we think some of the work that we've been doing at the University of Maryland is important, where we are actually training officers to use more communication, more de-escalation and actually be more objective in their outcomes.

MARTIN: Are you seeing a shift, though? I mean, these officers are on the stand in this trial talking about the circumstances of that day when George Floyd was killed. In some ways, they are they are placing blame on their supervising officer in a way that maybe they hadn't felt emboldened¹⁵ to do before.

RAY: It is a shift. And it's going to be curious to see how much impact this shift has. But over the coming years, I think people hope that the changes happening at the state and local levels will actually do something here.

MARTIN: Rashawn Ray with the Brookings Institution - thank you.

RAY: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

3 tangibly   

adv.可触摸的，可触知地，明白地

参考例句：

• Suddenly the problem of future loomed tangibly for me. 突然，前途的问题明确地出现在我眼前。 来自辞典例句
• Virtue is tangibly rewarded. 善行得到具体的报答。 来自互联网

4 mandating   

托管（mandate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Current requirements mandating that committees keep minutes are too general. 目前对委员会要保持详细记录的指令性要求，还是太过一般化了。
• Mandating that workers who quit without permission forfeit a month's wages. 规定工人私自离岗将受到罚没一个月工资的处罚。

5 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

6 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

7 stigmatizing   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Laing regards the concept of mental illness as both unscientific and stigmatizing. 菜恩认为精神病的概念是不科学的和诬蔑性的。 来自辞典例句
• The existing social benefits are considered to be stigmatizing and repressive. 现存的社会福利被指责为是无价值的、残暴的。 来自互联网

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

10 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

11 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

12 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

13 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

14 qualitatively   

质量上

参考例句：

• In other words, you are to analyze them quantitatively and qualitatively. 换句话说，你们要对它们进行量和质的分析。
• Electric charge may be detected qualitatively by sprinkling or blowing indicating powders. 静电荷可以用撒布指示粉剂的方法，予以探测。

15 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》