For more than 100 years, we at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf have worked to prevent injustice. The Constitution makes it clear that all men are created equal. To update that statement — we truly believe that ALL PEOPLE are created equal, regardless of gender, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation.
On this, the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd, we want to take a moment to reflect on this horrific day in the history of America. A knee on the neck is, at best, completely unacceptable, and at worst, murder. Tellingly, even fellow police officers and police experts were offended by the cruelty inflicted by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on another human being. But the fundamental wrongs committed that day went beyond Chauvin’s conduct. Truly disheartening were the images of other police officers watching the events unfold and doing nothing to intervene. Perhaps now, good officers who observe the clear abuse of constitutional civil rights will take action — and will intercede to ensure these incidents be stopped in their tracks.
The bottom line is this: we have the right to expect better. We have the right to expect better from police officers when it comes to police brutality and the use of excessive force. This is by no means an indictment of the entire police department. There are many good police officers. But it is an indictment of those who participate in civil rights violations. And it is an indictment of those who turn a blind eye and fail to act when wrongs are perpetrated before their very eyes.
As time goes by, it remains our hope that police will learn from the events surrounding the death of George Floyd. To the extent they don’t, we at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf stand ready, willing and able to continue to fight for justice in the courtroom against anyone who fails to respect the civil rights that we all hold so dear.