Thomas Nolan (criminologist): "Qualified immunity is at the center of opposition to the George Floyd law"
Demonstrators protest against police violence in Washington, May 31, 2020. REUTERS - YURI GRIPAS
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6 mins
A year ago, on May 25, George Floyd died during an arrest, suffocated by the police officer Dereck Chauvin who had kept his knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
For criminologist Thomas Nolan.
For the criminologist and ex-Boston police officer Thomas Nolan, it is necessary to pass the George Floyd law, even if it means ignoring certain points.
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The death filmed live of George Floyd, this African-American was deeply shocked. Joe Biden had also called on elected officials to vote before the symbolic date of May 25,
the federal law called the
George Floyd Act
(George Floyd law), which must reform the practices of the American police. However, the bill "
for justice in the maintenance of order
", voted in the House of Representatives last March is still blocked in the Senate. The main point of tension between Republicans and Democrats is what is called qualified immunity, which limits the possibilities of prosecuting a police officer who perpetrates violence.
The criminologist, lecturer in sociology at Emmanuel College in Boston, who was also a police officer in Boston for 27 years, nevertheless believes that this reform is necessary, even if it is necessary to sacrifice qualified immunity on the altar of 'a federal law.
"There are ways to get around federal blockades on this issue of qualified immunity"
Thomas Nolan "There are ways to get around federal blockades on this question of qualified immunity"
You know, there are a lot of measures in this law, and personally, I would like as many of these measures as possible to be voted on. But if during these negotiations one or two points have to be deleted for the law to be passed, then okay, we'll come back to that later. And that may be the case for the end of qualified immunity, which is currently a problem. The reform makes it easier to file a complaint against the police. A rather difficult step to make here in the United States. But I would like to clarify that we are talking about federal legislation here. At local and state level, many legislative assemblies and municipal councils are debating this qualified immunity. So there are ways around federal blockades on this issue.And several states and cities in the United States have already dealt with it. So if it has to be deleted in order to pass the George Floyd Act, I would agree, personally.
For the criminologist, the political parties are also under strong pressure from the powerful police unions who oppose the reforms.
"They will do their utmost to exert this influence and defeat these measures"
Thomas Nolan: "There is strong opposition from the police unions"
There is strong opposition from the police unions.
In the United States, they have a lot of power and influence over political decisions as well as over the political class.
So they will do their utmost to exert that influence and defeat these measures.
Because for the police unions, these provisions would prevent the police from continuing practices to which they adhere.
And indeed, it will indeed reduce their ability to pursue these uses that they have held to be sacrosanct over the decades.
► To read also: After the George Floyd affair, the hope of a profound change in the United States?
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