Queens leaders rally at Borough Hall in solidarity
with Black lives after Chauvin’s guilty verdict
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
One day after a jury found
former Minneapolis Police
Officer Derek Chauvin guilty
of murdering George Floyd
on all three counts, Queens
Borough President Donovan
Richards joined several elected
officials for a rally in the
Helen Marshall Cultural Center
at Queens Borough Hall
on April 21.
Like many others, Richards
said he didn’t expect that Chauvin
would be found guilty. He
recalled the raw emotions he
felt when the verdict in the
Sean Bell case came in, acquitting
the officers involved in
the shooting death of Bell on
all charges.
Bell, who was Richards’
neighbor, died in the early
morning of his wedding on Nov.
25, 2006, when plainclothes
and undercover NYPD officers
fired a total of 50 rounds at Bell
and his two friends.
“At that moment, we never
thought we would get justice or
see justice in this country,” he
said.Richards said that many
Black men, himself included,
felt Chauvin’s knee on
their necks and that centuries
of racism and injustice
left them so disillusioned,
they couldn’t even imagine a
guilty verdict.
“We’ve always felt that
our lives did not matter. Every
time, one of us lost our
lives, and there was no justice
served. It didn’t matter what
our title was. We felt devalued,”
the former councilman said.
While Richards considered
Monday’s verdict a step in the
right direction, he reminded
everyone that a lot of work still
needed to be done and that the
fight for justice was not over.
Besides calling for the implementation
of policies like
investing in underserved communities,
Richards urged Congress
to pass the George Floyd
Justice in Policing Act.
If passed, the act would ban
chokeholds and carotid holds
at the federal level, create a
federal registry of police misconduct
complaints and disciplinary
actions, and prohibit
no-knock warrants, among
others.
Richards emphasized
that the phrase “Black Lives
Matter” should not be misconstrued
as an attack on
other communities or law
enforcement.
“It should be viewed as a
truth which we can all stand
firmly on. But this only happens
when we practice police
accountability,” Richards said.
“When we hold rogue officers
accountable, that is truly when
we honor the shield. We can
decide now to have true liberty
and justice for all.”
Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz said she felt relief
and pride that the jury rendered
a guilty verdict, but also
sadness and anger at the brutal
murder of George Floyd. Katz
believes that police accountability
creates an environment
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.22 COM | APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2021
of trust.
“So as we stand together, I
just want to reiterate my commitment
as district attorney
to push to increase accountability
to help rebuild the
trust that’s so sorely tested
in so many of our communities
here in Queens County,”
said Katz, a former Queens
borough president.
Councilwoman Adrienne
Adams, who represents the
28th District in southeast
Queens and serves as the chair
of Committee on Public Safety,
said the verdict was a step in
the right direction sending a
message to police officers who
think they can harm or kill
without impunity that they
will be held accountable for
their actions.
“We must continue the
fight to achieve this vision
of true justice. We must demand
and push for systemic
change, change that is lasting,
meaningful and impactful
for every individual in
our communities across this
country,” Adams said.
State Senator John Liu,
Assembly members Jenifer
Rajkumar, Khaleel Anderson
and David Weprin, and Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer
agreed that justice was served
in the George Floyd case but
that the push for more significant
police reform was still as
urgent as ever.
Liu said believes that most
officers join the force for the
rights reason but that it was
time to weed out the “bad apples.”
“We have to insist along
with our New York’s finest that
change is good. It’s good for the
community. And it’s good for
our police officers,” Liu expressed.
Anderson said that the
guilty verdict meant that the
criminal justice system recognizes
Black lives but reminded
everyone that this was only
one sentencing where justice
was served.
“There are so many other
lives that have been lost where
there’s been no officer accountability,”
Anderson said. “So
this is our moment to ensure
that we press on with legislative
reforms, with procedural
changes, to really root out the
elements of racism that exist
within law enforcement.”
Rajkumar, who was recently
appointed to the Assembly’s
Subcommittee on Diversity in
Law, will be working with legal
partners across the state to
increase justice.
“We have a long way to go.
I think of the words of Martin
Luther King, who famously
said that ‘The arc of the moral
universe is long, but it bends
towards justice.’ I hope it does.
I believe it does,” Rajkumar
said. Weprin referred to the verdict
as historic but acknowledged
that it was only a temporary
victory.
“It’s so important that we
all stand together when injustice
is done, and also celebrate,
at least temporarily, when
justice is done, as was done
yesterday. I also would like to
point out that it was great that
we had such a diverse jury
making this decision,” said
Weprin, a candidate for city
comptroller.
Van Bramer, who is running
against Richards for
Queens borough president, appreciated
that both were able
to rise above politics and show
unity.
“We have an obligation, a
moral, ethical obligation to
stand together as one borough,
all of us united in grief at the
loss of George Floyd and far
too many others. But also in
the pursuit of a lasting and
permanent justice. And that’s
why it’s important for me to be
here today,” Van Bramer said.
The rally concluded with
nine minutes and 29 seconds
of silence for George Floyd and
his family — the exact amount
of time Chauvin had his knee
pressed into George Floyd’s
neck, which led to Floyd’s
death.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards delivers remarks at Queens Borough Hall on Wednesday,
April 21. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
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