#104 Should Derek Chauvin Be In Prison?
Both Derek Chauvin and Tou Thou remain in custody while Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane live as convicted felons. Is this justice or politics?
Welp, President Trump sure is handing out pardons Oprah style. Just reach under your seat.
We started with the J6ers, then Ross Ulbricht, the former Silk Road administrator, and then the pro-life protesters.
But beneath the whirlwind of freedom lingers another name.
Derek Chauvin. The Voldemort of our day, serving 22.5 years after multiple state and federal convictions for George Floyd’s death. Former Officer Tou Thao continues his 4-year and 9-month sentence while Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane live in obscurity as convicted felons.
But the air is different in early 2025.
After the popular vote proved there are far more Trump supporters than not, it’s becoming easier for everyday Americans to speak their minds. As new developments in the Chauvin case have recently resurfaced, more people are asking: Should Derek Chauvin be in prison?
Mainstream Argument: Yes! They ALL Belong in Prison!
Main Points
Derek Chauvin used excessive force
Derek Chauvin’s actions caused George Floyd’s death
Derek Chauvin violated police protocols and training standards
Officers Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao failed to intervene and provide medical assistance
Incarcerating Chauvin and fellow officers sets a precedent and serves as a deterrent to others who consider abuse of power
Point #1: Derek Chauvin Used Excessive Force
Seth Stoughton, a former police officer, use-of-force expert, and law professor, testified during the trial that Derek Chauvin's actions violated those of a “reasonable officer.”
In his 100-page-plus report, Stoughton admitted while Floyd was uncooperative, he did not pose a threat while outnumbered four to one.
The ex-cop also described multiple uses of force, such as kneeling on Floyd's neck and restraining him in the prone position, as unnecessary. Kneeling on or around the neck should only be a transitory tactic. Once handcuffed, the pressure must be released, Stoughton added.
It's clear from the number of officers and Mr. Floyd's position and the fact that he's handcuffed and has been searched, he doesn't present a threat of harm… -Seth Stoughton
Point #2 Derek Chauvin’s Actions Caused George Floyd’s Death
Andrew Baker, M.D., of the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, concluded in an autopsy report from May 2020 that Floyd’s death was a homicide resulting from “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”
The Floyd family also hired Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson to conduct an independent autopsy, both finding the police at fault.
Baden determined Floyd died of traumatic asphyxia due to “compression of his neck and back during restraint by police.”
Wilson concluded, “Asphyxia due to neck and back compression led to lack of blood flow to the brain.”
On June 1, 2020, Floyd’s attorney shared the findings of the independent autopsy report, saying he was healthy and had no underlying conditions.
Point #3 Derek Chauvin Violated Police Protocols and Training Standards
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said, “This was a murder. It wasn’t a lack of training,” adding that one officer caused Floyd’s death, and the others failed to prevent it.
Echoing Seth Stoughton's testimony, Arradondo said escalated use of force was reasonable to get the suspect under control but should have stopped once handcuffed on the ground.
During the trial, Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell told jurors that Chauvin's restraint technique was an improvised method inconsistent with MPD training standards.
Point #4 Failure to Provide Care
All four officers failed to follow proper de-escalation tactics.
While Floyd stated several times that he couldn’t breathe, Chauvin held Floyd in an unauthorized position while the other officers did nothing.
Once Floyd became unresponsive, the officers did not render first aid. As Chief Arredondo testified, all officers must provide care, whether citizens are under arrest or not.
LAPD use of force expert called by the prosecution told jurors:
As the time went on, clearly in the video, you can see that Mr. Floyd’s health was deteriorating, his breath was getting lower, tone of voice getting lower, his movements were starting to cease…At that point, as an officer on the scene, you have a responsibility to realize something is not right, something has changed drastically from what happened earlier, and you have to take some sort of action. -SGT Jody Stiger
Point #5 Legal Precedent and Example To Law Enforcement
Finding Chauvin and his fellow officers guilty sets an example to current and future officers that they will be held accountable for their actions or inactions.
For example, in a separate viral arrest from May 2020, an officer moved another officer’s knee off a suspect’s neck during an arrest.
By handing down harsh sentences, such cases serve as a general reminder to the public that standards must be upheld and society will not stand for police brutality or apathy toward those in custody.
Rebuttal: No! This Was a Political Witch Hunt!
Main Points
Derek Chauvin abided by proper training and use of force standards
Minneapolis Fire and EMS failed to respond quickly and misused medical equipment
George Floyd had severe underlying medical conditions, including a substance abuse problem
The prosecution was unable to prove any malicious intent from the officers and banned mitigating evidence from jurors
These officers were denied their Constitutional right to a fair and impartial trial due to political framing in the media, law enforcement, and criminal justice system
Point #1 Derek Chauvin Abided by Training and Use of Force Standards
While experts for the prosecution during the trial acted like they’d never heard of the Maximal Restraint Technique (MRT), here is a photo of Minneapolis Police Officers practicing that very tactic.
Derek Chauvin’s mother, interviewed for the documentary The Fall of Minneapolis, showed journalist Liz Collins of Alpha News her son’s police training manuals covering the authorized use of the MRT under Section 5-316.
Chief Arredondo indeed testified such methods should be “transitory,” as police documentation states, but that’s contingent upon the suspect's behavior, as noted in the training manual:
The Maximal Restraint Technique shall only be used in situations where handcuffed subjects are combative and still pose a threat to themselves, officers, or others or could cause significant damage to property if not properly restrained.
However, much of the body cam footage was withheld from the public for months, and some were not permitted as evidence for jury review. If allowed, jurors would have seen Floyd kicking officers while on the ground.
From the start, Floyd fails to comply with multiple commands, and Shawanda Hill, a bystander, is heard in the background telling Floyd to “stop resisting.”
In an odd stroke of luck, someone even dug up a picture of Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell herself employing the MRT during a 2014 riot:
In a recent development. 14 officers agreed to testify that police leadership lied on the stand about the MRT authorization.
Point #2 Miscommunication and Improper Medical Attention
While everyone focuses on what the police should or shouldn’t have done, we don’t see much conversation about Minneapolis Fire and EMS’ role in the incident.
In body cam footage previously withheld from the public, officers called for EMS 36 seconds after placing Floyd on the ground.
Yet Minneapolis Fire and EMS took 20 minutes to arrive, and their station is 8 blocks away. When they finally made it on scene, EMS mistakenly went into Cup Foods, the store where Floyd initially used the counterfeit bill, which prompted the clerk to call the police—every second counts.
In another damning snip of body cam footage, Officer Lane rendered chest compressions before loading Floyd into the ambulance. In a quick second, the body cam caught the oxygen mask placed onto Floyd, which wasn’t connected to an oxygen supply.
Judge Cahill did not allow this evidence to be included in the trial.
Point #3 George Floyds Underlying Medical Conditions
The media concentrated hard on the MRT as part of the investigation and trial.
However, there was less talk about Floyds’ underlying medical conditions and intoxication levels while interacting with police.
The bodycam footage witnessed a white object in Floyd’s mouth when police first encountered him, later identified as a speedball, and they also found one in the patrol car with saliva and DNA consistent with Floyds.
A speedball is a combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl, typically taken orally.
With Floyd’s fentanyl level at 11mg, experts testified at trial that if Floyd were found dead at home alone, they would conclude the cause of death was an overdose. For context, medical professionals generally consider 2mg of fentanyl to be fatal.
Hell of a tolerance.
It seems even a bystander knew Floyd was under drug-related distress, as someone in the background can be heard telling Floyd to get in the squad car before he has a heart attack.
Floyd himself even said he couldn’t breathe before officers placed him on the ground, which was Floyd’s request.
Floyd also had preexisting health conditions, such as coronary artery disease, with at least one artery 75% blocked.
Had Floyd not lied when officers asked him if he was on anything and remained calm, maybe he would be alive today.
Point #4 Lack of Intent to Harm
Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in a Minnesota State trial.
Separately, he was also convicted at a federal level for violating George Floyd’s civil rights, including Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law. The others were convicted of a combination of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, failing to stop unreasonable force, and violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
But the media tended to omit the ‘unintentional’ part of ‘second-degree intentional murder’ in headlines. That didn’t jive with the narrative.
Since the charge was not standard second-degree murder, prosecutors weren’t required to prove Chauvin acted with malicious intent. Only that Chauvin’s actions were unreasonable.
Either way, there was no evidence that Chauvin or others tried to do anything but maintain control over a complicated situation.
Point #5 Denial of Sixth Amendment Rights
All evidence and testimony aside, the media and political drive to convict these officers made it impossible for them to get a fair trial.
Almost all mainstream media painted a picture of another consequence of systemic racism within American law enforcement.
Moving the trial to a different location would have made little difference, as social media, the 24-hour news cycle, and dominating leftist ideology led the court of public opinion to condemn the four officers on an international level.
Also, after months of riots, violence, and destruction, jurors must have considered the repercussions of a not-guilty verdict, not only for the city’s sake but for their safety, as the National Guard set up barricades and concertina wire around the courthouse.
While no jurors confirmed they were threatened, it's not out of the realm of possibility that an idealogue would leak juror info to far-left lunatics. If so, I doubt anyone would admit it.
The Fall of Minneapolis
The look on Thomas Lane’s face in his mugshot says to me: How the hell did this happen?
At 37 years old, Thomas “Big Tom” Lane didn’t come into the Minneapolis police department as a typical recruit.
He’d worked in food service, security, and corrections before eventually joining the force following a long line of familial law enforcement.
While studying for his degree, Lane volunteered to mentor inner-city kids and tutored Somali students in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. He wasn’t a Klansman, known to use racial slurs, nor was there any evidence that Lane or the other officers were racist or intended to kill George Floyd. I’m sure if they wanted to carry out such an act, they wouldn’t do it in the presence of 67 cameras and one hundred eyewitnesses.
Not to mention, Chauvin probably wouldn’t have invited a black and Asian officer. While Lane is white, this incident happened on his fourth day on the job. No way would Chauvin trust a rookie to carry out a heinous crime.
But this isn’t a story about Tom. It’s not even a story about Derek Chauvin or George Floyd.
It’s a story of destroyed culture. George Floyd’s death catalyzed a cultural and political powder keg. If it weren’t Floyd, it would have been another “victim.”
George Floyd is not dead because of racism, systemic or otherwise.
This case was a culmination of everything decaying in our culture. Drug abuse, poor health, broken families, gutted industry, power hunger, corruption, and lack of community and fundamental values.
What they did to that city and everyone involved here is exactly what they tried to do with America.
If you’re on the fence about this case, or even if you’ve made up your mind, I strongly encourage you to watch The Fall of Minneapolis. It’s free on YouTube. Click here. That’s where I got a lot of info for this post, although much was left out.
This is a must-see for anyone who lived through the past 5 years.
Once the truth becomes common knowledge, I think more people will regard this case and the overall direction of our country the way Thomas Lane appears in his mugshot:
How the hell did this happen?
Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace. -Dwight D. Eisenhower
Meme of the Week
Business of the Week: Made In America Store
Mark Andol was tired of seeing his country destroyed by jobs and production going to other countries.
In 2016, he opened the Made in America store from a closed dealership showroom in Elma, New York, selling only American-made items.
But you don’t have to visit the Empire State to find quality products made right here in the USA.
Whether you're in the market for kitchenware, outdoor goods, or toys and games for the kids, head to the Made In America Store today. Free shipping on all orders over $100!
American of the Week: US Army Private First Class Carl Vernon Sheridan
On November 26, 1944, an element from the US Army’s Company K, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, engaged an enemy position in a castle courtyard near Weisweiller, Germany.
The Germans were heavily barricaded in a gatehouse made of stone with a large oak door, impenetrable by standard small-arms fire.
As the designated bazooka gunner, Carl knew his weapon system was their only hope of defeating the German’s defense and neutralizing the threat.
With minimal cover and no assistant gunner, Carl exposed himself to enemy fire, yelling to his fellow men, “Come on! Let’s get ‘em!” and successfully breached the fortified entrance with two well-placed rounds.
The gap allowed the Americans to access the German position and eliminate the threat, saving many American lives.
But not Carl’s.
For his bravery and selfless service, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
He was only 19 years old. Remember Carl today.
Thank you for remembering Carl Vernon Sheridan. A real hero. As for Chauvin, the withheld evidence should be released to the public.