By Heart of Illinois ABC
BLOOMINGTON – The jury’s finding that ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd is only part of the battle for local civil rights advocates.
The trial’s conclusion comes at a key time, according to Pastor Marvin Hightower, president of Peoria’s chapter of the NAACP.
Hightower noted there’s momentum for police reform as Peoria looks for a new police chief.
“There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done to address police reform, and then even here in Peoria, said Hightower.
“With us being getting ready to hire a new police chief, hopefully this will help build a relationship between the community and the police department,” Hightower said.
The Bloomington-Normal NAACP branch released a statement late Tuesday night.
“The outcome of the verdict does not abate or diminish the fact that African Americans continue to contend with racism, discrimination and retaliation,” said the organization’s 1st vice president, Dr. Carla Campbell-Jackson.
“As such, we must not prove oblivious to the reality of inequalities.
Institutionalized and systemic racism are both sad indictments on the state of our country,” Campbell-Jackson added.
She said the NAACP supports passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 1280). The bill, passed by the U.S. House and awaiting Senate action, aims to increase accountability for police misconduct. It restricts use of no-knock warrants, limits “unnecessary” use of force, and lowers criminal intent standards from “willful” to “knowing” or “reckless” in federal prosecutions, The measure also limits officers’ use of qualified immunity as a defense in private civil lawsuits.
“The fact that this entire fiasco started over a possible counterfeit bill clearly shows that some members of law enforcement have no regard for the sanctity of life. This must change,” said Linda Foster, president of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP chapter.
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