DOJ considering federal 'color of law' prosecution of officer accused in Floyd death

The head of the civil rights division at the Department of Justice says the case of George Floyd is a top priority as the DOJ decides whether or not to proceed with federal charges against the police officer accused in the shocking and tragic incident that has led to rioting in cities across America.

“I've watched the video of what happened and led to Mr. Floyd's death,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband told this reporter in a podcast interview for The Pod's Honest Truth. “I will say the video is very disturbing and very troubling.”

While Mr. Dreiband can’t comment on the case specifically at this time, he did convey a sense of urgency in the matter. “The investigation is a high priority of ours,” he says. “We're also working with state and local officials, but we will make an independent judgment about whether or not federal criminal charges or other action is warranted by the federal government.”

County officials in Minnesota have charged Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused in Floyd’s death, with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. However, the Justice Department will now decide whether federal civil rights charges will be filed as well.

DOJ tells Just The News that if they move forward, they would proceed under what is known as “color of law” prosecution. Law enforcement officers are generally given quite a bit of authority and leeway to safeguard justice. But it’s a crime for any person serving under color of law protection to violate the constitutional rights or federally protected rights of an individual.

“We've prosecuted many, many police officers, other law enforcement officials around the country under that statute and criminal cases,” Dreiband says. “And we will continue to do that.”

Opponents of this administration question whether the Trump administration is serious when it comes to aggressively pursing federal civil rights charges in the Floyd case. Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP recently told the New York Times that “our confidence in a federal intervention in cases like this is wholly dependent on the track record of the administration that is stepping in.”

Trump detractors say his administration has been more reluctant than its predecessors to pursue federal investigations against local police departments and law enforcement agencies. “This administration lacks credibility when it comes to addressing issues of justice, fairness and race,” Johnson told the Times. 

“We have I think, in our country both a proud and a tragic history when it comes to civil rights issues,” Dreiband said. “What I've tried to do ... is to convey that here in this country all Americans are equal before the law, they are entitled to equal justice under the law, and that our goal is to account for and be mindful of the tragedies that have happened in our country — the history of lynching and slavery and other things. But at the same time to acknowledge that many, many people in our history have acted in a heroic way to bring about civil rights protections for all Americans.”

As head of the civil rights division, one of the brave citizens that stands out to Dreiband is abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery and became known as the father of the civil rights movement in America. A portrait of the 19th century social reformer hangs near his office.

“As I go about my job on a day to day basis, I always look at the portrait that we have of Frederick Douglass and try to take inspiration from that," said Dreiband.