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u.s. news Diaranson 2 Juni 2021

Report tells of sexual assault, racism at military institute

(AP)- The Virginia Military In- ficials after The Washington Post re-
stitute has tolerated and failed to ported that Black cadets and alumni
address institutional racism and faced “relentless racism.”
sexism and must be held account-
able for making changes, accord- The Post’s October story described
ing to a state-sanctioned report threats of lynching as well as a white
released Tuesday. professor reminiscing in class about
her father’s Ku Klux Klan member-
The 145-page report, put together by ship. The newspaper cited interviews
an independent law firm at the request with more than a dozen current and
of the State Council of Higher Edu- former students of color at the presti-
cation for Virginia, states that “racial gious school.
slurs and jokes are not uncommon”
and “contribute to an atmosphere of Independent law firm Barnes &
hostility toward minorities.” Thornburg conducted the investiga-
tion. An interim report released in
The report also said that sexual as- March documented responses from
sault is prevalent yet inadequately students, faculty and alumni about
addressed at the nation’s oldest state- witnessing or experiencing racism
supported military college. A survey and sexism.
found that 14% of female cadets re-
ported being sexually assaulted, while VMI’s first Black superintendent, re-
63% said that a fellow cadet had told tired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Cedric
them that he or she was a victim of T. Wins, said in a statement that the
sexual assault. school has no place for racism and
sexism. He said there is “always room en until after a 1996 U.S. Supreme color rose from 12.7% in 1992 to
A racial disparity also exists among for improvement” and has developed Court ruling. 23.4% in 2020, and that people of
cadets who have been dismissed by an action plan following “deep dives” color make up 11% of full-time,
the school’s student-run honor court, into VMI’s policies. In anticipation of the report’s release, tenure-track faculty members. The
the report stated. Cadets of color rep- VMI released a statement acknowl- school also said it is one of the highest
resent 23% of the corps but make up Wins said that the report’s rec- edging incidents of racism and said producers of minority commissioned
41% of those dismissed since 2011. ommendations will be “evaluated that the school “cannot fulfill its mis- officers in the U.S. military.
through the lens of the VMI mission sion of producing educated and hon-
The report notes that VMI has be- and our unique method of education, orable men and women if it allows The school said that it formed a com-
gun to make changes. But it also says and, where appropriate, be integrat- racism or bias to go unchecked.” mittee in October focused on diver-
that VMI “will likely follow through ed.” sity, equity and inclusion and that it
on its promised reforms only if it is In the statement, VMI highlighted will soon hire its first chief diversity
forced to do so.” A prominent statue of Confederate diversity and inclusion efforts, such officer and create a cadet-led cultural
Gen. Stonewall Jackson, who taught as the Jackson statue’s removal and awareness training program.
The report follows a monthslong at the school, wasn’t taken down until the board voting in Wins in April.
probe ordered by Democratic Gov. December. VMI didn’t accept African VMI also pushed back against some
Ralph Northam and other state of- Americans until 1968 or accept wom- It said that enrollment of cadets of of the news coverage.

Chauvin faces hearing on federal charges in Floyd's death

(AP) — The former Minneapolis police of- and the others deprived Floyd of liberty without tucky.
ficer convicted of murder in George Floyd’s due process when they failed to provide him with
death is scheduled to make an initial appear- medical care. The other indictment against Chauvin alleges he
ance Tuesday in federal court to face charges deprived a then-14-year-old boy, who is Black, of
alleging he violated Floyd’s civil rights by Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, argued dur- his right to be free of unreasonable force when he
pinning the Black man to the pavement with ing Chauvin’s murder trial that the officer acted held the teen by the throat, hit him in the head
his knee. reasonably and Floyd died because of underlying with a flashlight and held his knee on the boy’s
health issues and drug use. He has filed a request neck and upper back while he was prone, hand-
Derek Chauvin, 45, is scheduled to appear in fed- for a new trial. cuffed and not resisting.
eral court via videoconference from Minnesota’s
maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights, To bring federal charges in deaths involving po- According to a police report from that 2017 en-
where he’s being held as he awaits sentencing fol- lice, prosecutors must believe an officer acted un- counter, Chauvin wrote that the teen resisted
lowing his April conviction on murder and man- der the “color of law,” or government authority, arrest and after the teen, whom he described as
slaughter charges. and willfully deprived someone’s constitutional 6-foot-2 and about 240 pounds, was handcuffed,
rights. That’s a high legal standard. An accident, Chauvin “used body weight to pin” him to the
The federal charges allege Chauvin violated bad judgment or simple negligence on the offi- floor. The boy was bleeding from the ear and
Floyd’s rights as he restrained him face-down cer’s part isn’t enough to support federal charges; needed two stitches.
while he was handcuffed, not resisting and gasp- prosecutors have to prove the officers knew what Chauvin was convicted in April on state charges
ing for air. Three other former officers — J. Kue- they were doing was wrong in that moment but of second-degree unintentional murder, third-
ng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — face similar did it anyway. degree murder and second-degree manslaughter
federal charges. Chauvin is also charged in a sepa- in Floyd’s death. Experts say he will likely face
rate indictment alleging he violated the rights of a The federal case sends a strong message about the no more than 30 years in prison when he is sen-
14-year-old boy in 2017. Justice Department’s priorities. When President tenced June 25. If convicted in the federal case,
Joe Biden was elected, he promised he’d work any federal sentence would be served at the same
While all four officers are charged broadly with to end disparities in the criminal justice system. time as his state sentence.
depriving Floyd of his rights while acting un- Federal prosecutors have also brought hate crimes
der government authority, the counts that name charges in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Ar- The other former officers face charges of aiding
Chauvin allege he violated Floyd’s right to be free bery in Georgia, and the Justice Department has and abetting both second-degree murder and
from unreasonable seizure and from unreason- launched sweeping investigations into the police manslaughter. They are free on bond and face
able force by a police officer. They also allege he departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Ken- state trial in March.