To the editor:

I think that the Daren Chauvin trial was the greatest travesty of justice in the history of the world. The one fact that I never heard any time during the trial was if Floyd had not been committing a crime the police would have never have been called. If he had not resisted police commands he would not have had to be subdued, therefore would still be alive.

George Floyd’s death was a direct result of a bad decision made by himself. I do not think that Officer Chauvin intended to kill him. I think that that was a result of a bad decision by the officer while preforming his duty. Certainly not an act of murder. 

It is a sad day when all a criminal has to do to get by with a crime is to be able to outrun the police. The police are not allowed to apprehend the criminal. God help them if they should injure him. All at once the criminal was an upstanding citizen. Every one forgets what caused the problem to start with. 

We should think where we will be when we have the police afraid to stop a criminal. That the criminals have a free rein. What will you do when you call the police and no one comes? What will you do when the thief is stealing everything you have and there is no one to stop him? What will you do when your child or spouse is being molested or killed and there is no one to stop him? 

Police are humans the same as the rest of us; they make mistakes like the rest of us. They work in a world where their life depends on split-second decisions. It is terrible when someone dies at the hands of police. But not as terrible as when a dedicated police officer’s life is destroyed trying to do his job. Every time we make a decision like this the criminal wins. Every time we make a decision like this the law abiding citizen loses.

Yes, we need a change in the way we handle some things. It comes with education, not by undermining the efforts of law enforcement. Officer Chauvin may have broken some rules. He may be guilty of using excessive force. He might need to be penalized. But certainly not for murder. I feel that in this case we sacrificed Officer Chauvin for the sake of impressing a very radical group and a very dangerous group in this country. I feel that many times it is not about black and white but about lawful and unlawful. Criminals need to be stopped. Criminals must be held accountable. Be thankful for the men and women of law enforcement for keeping our community safe.

Bernard Levings

Great Bend