When asked what an acceptable sentence for Derek Chauvin would be, George Floyd's uncle Selwyn Jones told FOX43 "you cannot debate what's acceptable when somebody's life is gone."
Jones spoke to FOX43 reporter Jamie Bittner moments before Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in the murder of Floyd in Minneapolis.
"What can we do dear? What can we do? The only thing that we can do is brush ourselves off, communicate, conversate, educate, and motivate, and take advantage of what we've been given. Because dear, we ain't never been given anything like this before. The whole world literally stopped on its axis because my nephew was in a situation he couldn't win" said Jones as he vowed his fight for reform wouldn't end with Chauvin's sentence.
"All I know is this. We've got a chance. We've got a chance," he said.
How are police departments changing?
In Pennsylvania, York City Police Commissioner Michael Muldrow is among the leaders pushing to reform policing by focusing on the community and youth in addition to diverse hiring practices.
"I don't even want to say his name again," said Muldrow Friday when FOX43 asked him about Chauvin and the mistrust of police by many in the nation. "Because he did that. He caused that. He created that blemish on this profession. So, I'm done with him. My focus is that trust."
Muldrow and other York City leaders held a press conference Thursday to discuss a number of community programs to recruit officers, assist families, and build trust.
"Our numbers with regards to diversity and inclusion are changing," said Muldrow. "I mean we were recently found to be one of the most diverse in the state."
Muldrow said his and the city's effort to focus on community relations has already paid off in recruitment to the York City Police Department as he said, "we're getting a lot of interest. We're talking about cold call interest."
Nationwide, a recent survey of nearly 200 police agencies by the Police Executive Research Forum found fewer new officers were hired and resignations and retirements increased throughout the 2020-2021 period compared to the previous year.
Muldrow said, York City Police has not experienced an increase in resignations or retirements. However he noted there was a time in York when rank numbers were low due to scheduled retirements and funding issues. Now that hiring has begun again, he said his focus is on diversity. But, he stressed he is also committed to keeping existing officers on the force.
"I want to keep the ones that I have, get them recharged, refocused. Put them in the best position to be successful. But, then I also want to find new talent," he said.
When FOX43 asked Muldrow how he would describe the 'perfect officer' he reflected back to advice he received from his mentors.
"One of those mentors taught me, when it comes to officers, he wanted somebody whom he wanted to eat lunch with. Now, what that translated into for me was people who knew how to treat people," he said.
