China Daily Online, May 29 (Chinanews.com) -- Four years ago, millions of Americans watched the horrific video of George Floyd being kneeled on the neck by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, sparking protests across the U.S. However, progress in addressing decades-long racial disparities through criminal justice reform has stagnated or even regressed.

 

According to NBC, after the incident, Chauvin was convicted of murder and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison, and three other former police officers were also sentenced to prison for their involvement in the case. Since then, calls for reflection on issues related to racism and police violence have been coming one after another across the United States. But in the following years, some efforts to change the status quo, such as the federal George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, have stalled. In some states, calls for criminal justice reforms to address decades-long racial disparities have weakened.

CNN reported that on the fourth anniversary of Floyd's death, his family once again called on Congress to pass the U.S. police reform bill named after him. Floyd's brother said, "We need change." The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in June 2020, but was blocked in the Senate.

Recently, Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee resubmitted the bill, which requires law enforcement agencies to be "accountable for misconduct in court" and to carry out police training and policy reforms. The congresswoman wrote on the social platform: "We have the opportunity to make bold and comprehensive reforms to policing to correct and prevent unnecessary deaths."

He also said: "In their (police) eyes, because you are African-American, you are their target. If they can make federal laws to protect (the national bird of the United States) bald eagle, then they can also make federal laws to protect people of color."

USA Today reported that the racial divide in the United States persists, from the much higher death rate of people of color than white people during the epidemic to the protests sparked by the Floyd incident that raged on the streets across the United States. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that the Floyd incident was like a beacon, calling attention to how racism permeates society.

The Reuters report also mentioned another case of excessive law enforcement by American police resulting in death. When the racial justice protests sparked by the Floyd incident in 2020 swept the world, African American youth Stevante Clark saw a glimmer of hope. In March 2018, his brother Stephon Clark was shot 20 times by Sacramento police in the backyard of his grandparents' house and died. The police said they were worried that he was holding a gun. But it was later discovered that Stephen was only holding a mobile phone. The death of the 22-year-old youth triggered protests and calls for reform, and also prompted California to enact stricter laws on the use of force. However, no comprehensive reforms have occurred across the United States.

Clark believes that the Floyd incident and the deaths of several other African Americans in 2020 will finally lead to substantive criminal justice reforms, which he and others have been seeking for years. But four years on, the road to comprehensive police reform in the United States has been fraught with obstacles. Calls have lost momentum and legislative work has stalled, frustrating communities, advocates and families who have lost loved ones because they see it as a departure from police accountability.

Clark told reporters: "If we don't pass comprehensive policy and legislative changes to prevent the Floyd incident from happening again, we will not be able to respect Floyd's life and 'legacy'. The US government has not been aggressive enough in responding to this crisis - this is not just the struggle of African Americans - this is for everyone. People have become numb to excessive police force that leads to death."