Student ID Number M00*1****
Explaining Crime
Module Title
Module Code CRM1272
Seminar Tutor
Assessment Title Summative Assessment 2: Analytical Essay
Academic Declaration:
I declare that this assignment is my own work and that I have correctly acknowledged
the work of others. This assignment is in accordance with University and School
guidance on good academic conduct (and how to avoid plagiarism and other assessment
irregularities). Guidance can be found at: http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/plagiarismreferencing?status=Success
Word Count Date
(If applicable)
1666
Submitted
09/01/2022
, It’s been nearly two years from the death of George Floyd, a 46 year old Black American man.
I personally find this case quite interesting since it was global news and there were various footages
from different perspectives. This plays a big part in how people views differ based on what footage
they’ve seen, which leads to diverse opinions on how the situation was handled by the police and
Floyd.
On the 25th of May 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, a shop employee called the police on Floyd
and another man who was with him for a fake $20 bill.
During his arrest the situation quickly escalated resulting in the death of Floyd from the police
officers, particularly officer Chauvin who had his knee pressuring on Floyd’s neck.
There are various footages from different angles, like: restaurant cctv camera in front of the street
which lacks audio and the crucial part that caused Floyd death since a vehicle was in front of the
view, bystanders who also missed the beginning of his arrest and only caught the escalated situation
of when the victim stopped breathing, and the police bodycam which is the source that has the full
occurrence with the audio.
Majority of people and the media concentrated on the bystanders footage, which showed Floyd on
the ground struggling and claiming he couldn’t breathe while the police officers where on top of his
body, in particular his neck.
Because of how big the media is and how it impacts society, the footage and news went Global
resulting in protests around the world and making the Black Lives Matter movement, which started
in 2013, bigger than ever.
This result can be linked to Durkheim Theory in particular functional rebellion which is the need of
social change against an unjust system. Before George Floyd homicide other Black Americans were
killed, such as Ahmaud Arbery, murdered by three white individuals while he was jogging, and
Breonna Taylor who was shoot by the police in her house. These incidents made people seek justice
for the victims and their families by protesting, signing petitions and donating to organizations.
According to The New York Times this movement helped in making a change: ‘‘In Minneapolis, the
City Council pledged to dismantle its police department. In New York, lawmakers repealed a law that
kept police disciplinary records secret. Cities and states across the country passed new laws banning
chokeholds. Mississippi lawmakers voted to retire their state flag, which prominently includes a
Confederate battle emblem’’ (Larry Buchanan, Quoctrung Bui and Jugal K. Patel 2020)
People were also very vocal on the arrests of the officers who caused the incidents because it
appeared that officer Chauvin had 15 conduct complaints and officer Thao had 6 conduct
complaints before the murder of Floyd, while the other two officers were trainees who did nothing
to help when the situation escalated (BBC News 2020). Many people believed that the arrest of the
officers will prevent further police violence on the community especially Black Americans, for that
reason there were various petitions opened which required a set amount of signing to consider the
arrest of the ex-police officers.
All of these, as suggested by Durkheim, happened because of Floyd’s tragic death which lead to the
movement being bigger and more individuals being involved. As previously stated Black Lives Matter
was a movement started back in 2013, however if the death of George Floyd caused by police didn’t
happen in the first place there wouldn’t be a major social change.
It’s also important to take into account the fact that before and after Floyd’s death many other Black
individuals around the world were subject to racial discrimination which reinforced the reasoning for
many countries to stand up and voice their frustrations. Some examples could be Belly Mujinga a
British black transport worker who was spat on by a white man in a discriminatory assault, Anderson
Explaining Crime
Module Title
Module Code CRM1272
Seminar Tutor
Assessment Title Summative Assessment 2: Analytical Essay
Academic Declaration:
I declare that this assignment is my own work and that I have correctly acknowledged
the work of others. This assignment is in accordance with University and School
guidance on good academic conduct (and how to avoid plagiarism and other assessment
irregularities). Guidance can be found at: http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/plagiarismreferencing?status=Success
Word Count Date
(If applicable)
1666
Submitted
09/01/2022
, It’s been nearly two years from the death of George Floyd, a 46 year old Black American man.
I personally find this case quite interesting since it was global news and there were various footages
from different perspectives. This plays a big part in how people views differ based on what footage
they’ve seen, which leads to diverse opinions on how the situation was handled by the police and
Floyd.
On the 25th of May 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, a shop employee called the police on Floyd
and another man who was with him for a fake $20 bill.
During his arrest the situation quickly escalated resulting in the death of Floyd from the police
officers, particularly officer Chauvin who had his knee pressuring on Floyd’s neck.
There are various footages from different angles, like: restaurant cctv camera in front of the street
which lacks audio and the crucial part that caused Floyd death since a vehicle was in front of the
view, bystanders who also missed the beginning of his arrest and only caught the escalated situation
of when the victim stopped breathing, and the police bodycam which is the source that has the full
occurrence with the audio.
Majority of people and the media concentrated on the bystanders footage, which showed Floyd on
the ground struggling and claiming he couldn’t breathe while the police officers where on top of his
body, in particular his neck.
Because of how big the media is and how it impacts society, the footage and news went Global
resulting in protests around the world and making the Black Lives Matter movement, which started
in 2013, bigger than ever.
This result can be linked to Durkheim Theory in particular functional rebellion which is the need of
social change against an unjust system. Before George Floyd homicide other Black Americans were
killed, such as Ahmaud Arbery, murdered by three white individuals while he was jogging, and
Breonna Taylor who was shoot by the police in her house. These incidents made people seek justice
for the victims and their families by protesting, signing petitions and donating to organizations.
According to The New York Times this movement helped in making a change: ‘‘In Minneapolis, the
City Council pledged to dismantle its police department. In New York, lawmakers repealed a law that
kept police disciplinary records secret. Cities and states across the country passed new laws banning
chokeholds. Mississippi lawmakers voted to retire their state flag, which prominently includes a
Confederate battle emblem’’ (Larry Buchanan, Quoctrung Bui and Jugal K. Patel 2020)
People were also very vocal on the arrests of the officers who caused the incidents because it
appeared that officer Chauvin had 15 conduct complaints and officer Thao had 6 conduct
complaints before the murder of Floyd, while the other two officers were trainees who did nothing
to help when the situation escalated (BBC News 2020). Many people believed that the arrest of the
officers will prevent further police violence on the community especially Black Americans, for that
reason there were various petitions opened which required a set amount of signing to consider the
arrest of the ex-police officers.
All of these, as suggested by Durkheim, happened because of Floyd’s tragic death which lead to the
movement being bigger and more individuals being involved. As previously stated Black Lives Matter
was a movement started back in 2013, however if the death of George Floyd caused by police didn’t
happen in the first place there wouldn’t be a major social change.
It’s also important to take into account the fact that before and after Floyd’s death many other Black
individuals around the world were subject to racial discrimination which reinforced the reasoning for
many countries to stand up and voice their frustrations. Some examples could be Belly Mujinga a
British black transport worker who was spat on by a white man in a discriminatory assault, Anderson
