Prosecutors seeking to criminally charge police officers face a number of obstacles. There is a high bar when it comes to proving intent, and police officers are generally granted leeway in what many consider to be a difficult job that requires split second decision making. Moreover, law enforcement officers place citizens under restraint tens of thousands of times every day. And even then, in the rare cases when that action results in death, proving that someone died specifically because of the restraint is rarely cut and dry.
In this episode of [Un]Common Law, we talk with Professor Ekow Yankah, a criminal procedure expert at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law about the legal distinctions that make it difficult to criminally prosecute police. We also speak with Brad Colbert, a professor of law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, about the specific differences between the charges Derek Chauvin is facing under Minnesota state law.