Trial Magazine

As a Black man, when I first saw the video of the cold-blooded police killing of George Floyd, a wave of emotions hit me—revulsion at the sheer brutality, anger that nothing has changed in America, and profound sadness for this unfortunate teaching moment for my twin sons.

This story has played out countless times: George Floyd, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, and many other people of color whose lives were wrongfully and prematurely ended by police violence. They all should have gone home to lie safely in their beds rather than be laid out lifeless at the morgue. They were breathing, thinking, feeling human beings with hopes and dreams. Each was somebody’s child and deserved better than to die alone at the hands of those sworn to protect us.

But something felt different as I watched every harrowing minute of Derek Chauvin acting as judge, jury, and executioner to end George’s life. Similar sentiments swept across the country last summer, culminating in one of the largest protest movements in U.S. history. Change was in the air, and it seemed like America was waking up.

My parents always taught me to not only do right but to actively help others. This important message has guided me throughout my life and career. With that in mind, I am fully committed to playing my part in AAJ’s fight to address the scourge of police violence that disproportionately devastates Black people and other minorities.

Civil litigation is critical to this struggle because police officers often are not held accountable at the criminal or administrative levels. (To read about how trial lawyers are paving the way in these cases, turn to p. 22.) This month, AAJ’s Civil Rights Section, Minority Caucus, and Police Misconduct Litigation Group are presenting a complimentary program at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law focusing on civil rights litigation (www.justice.org/education). And if you need additional resources when handling these cases, visit www.justice.org/resources/publications/police-misconduct.

But even with trial lawyers fighting for justice, it is often out of reach because of qualified immunity—the judicial doctrine the U.S. Supreme Court established in 1967 that shields law enforcement officers from lawsuits for civil rights violations. And that is why AAJ is working to eliminate qualified immunity through legislation.

Last year, Immediate Past President Tobi Millrood formed the AAJ Police Misconduct Taskforce, which I cochaired as president-elect along with AAJ member Larry Taylor, a member of the 2020–21 Executive Committee. The task force members worked quickly to develop federal and state legislative priorities addressing police misconduct and violence and to coordinate resources with the Civil Rights Section and Police Misconduct Litigation Group.

To that end, AAJ strongly supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House of Representatives last year and again in early March. The bill would eliminate qualified immunity for police officers, providing long-overdue accountability for the families of those killed by police brutality. Negotiations are ongoing in the Senate, and many of our task force members have been involved with the discussions, which have largely focused on holding police departments and municipalities accountable. True accountability will mean not only justice for victims today but protection for people tomorrow.

The bill contains other essential policing reforms, such as requiring all federal officers with the authority to conduct searches and make arrests to wear body cameras (and that the footage be preserved), creating a national police officer misconduct registry, banning choke- and carotid holds, and banning no-knock warrants in federal drug cases.

James Baldwin, a leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, once wrote, “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” We must unflinchingly face the truth—police violence is a stain on our nation’s soul that has ravaged Black and other minority communities. This is a moral issue, and it’s past time for change. For too long, people who look like my family and me have fallen victim to these crimes against humanity. Without accountability and transparency in policing, true justice will never be served.

Navan Ward Jr. is a principal at Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles in Atlanta and can be reached at navan.ward@justice.org.