When former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd after he was recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, it was the first time he was seriously punished for his misconduct as a police officer, according to reports.
Prior to his arrest, 18 other complaints had been filed against Chauvin with the police department’s internal affairs office, according to CNN. All of the complaint cases were closed except two, in which Chauvin was given a letter of reprimand.
Bryan Selzer, a retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s sergeant, believes that tracking an officer’s actions and complaints is the answer to better policing.
“You might be able to prevent something because of the history the officer has,” Selzer said. ”Those are all little indicators there might be something going on with the officer. But if you’re not aware of that, or if there is no early warning system in place, then it’s very difficult to identify.”
Selzer created software that makes supervisors aware of exactly what their officers are doing, displaying the data with strong visuals.
