George Floyd’s Murder Shows the Urgency of Being an Active Bystander

As difficult as it is to watch, it was the existence of the video of the murder of George Floyd one year ago on May 25, 2020, that sparked the racial justice protests around the country and ignited what hopefully is a movement that finally brings about meaningful and lasting change.

Not surprisingly, many law firms and other companies became determined to join the movement, to actively look inward, and to commit human and financial resources to try to repair our communities.

The legal profession found itself uniquely qualified to contribute by using their legal skills, pro bono, a term derived from the Latin pro bono publico, “for the public good,” in the service of the movement’s goals.

As explained by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, when “society confers the privilege to practice law on an individual, he or she accepts the responsibility to promote justice and to make justice equally accessible to all people. Thus, all lawyers should aspire to render some legal services without fee or expectation of fee for the good of the public.”

The Power of Pro Bono to Better Policing

I am privileged to work at a law firm that supports and encourages its attorneys to embrace their responsibility do pro bono work, use their skills to combat injustice, and create a better society. In the wake of Floyd’s killing, some of the pro bono initiatives undertaken by Sheppard Mullin attorneys demonstrate the power of pro bono. Almost immediately following his death, the firm partnered with Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program to launch the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) project, an initiative to teach police officers how to become active bystanders and intervene to prevent misconduct, avoid mistakes, and promote wellness.

The importance of being an active bystander is demonstrated by the heroic actions of teenager Darnella Frazier, who testified at the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin that when she saw “a man terrified, scared, begging for his life,” she took out her cell phone to record the now-infamous video. Despite apologizing at trial to Floyd for “not doing more,” Frazier plainly acted heroically, doing what she could under the circumstances.

Frazier’s bravery stands in sharp contrast to the images she recorded of three police officers who were passive bystanders watching Derek Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck as he lost his life. ABLE, which has gained the support of multi-national companies such as Mastercard, Verizon, and PepsiCo, is one of the rare police reform efforts that has been embraced both by police departments around the country and the communities that they serve.

The video of the murder of George Floyd demonstrates why transparency is so important to having informed discussions about policing in the U.S., and Frazier’s brave act of filming Floyd’s killing demonstrates the importance of being an active bystander.

Becoming an Active Bystander Means Doing More Than Paying Lip Service

Similarly, the body cameras that have brought too many instances of police misconduct to light ultimately demonstrate how transparency and full disclosure by police officers is better both for law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. In this regard, a team of Sheppard Mullin attorneys litigated cases across California, pro bono, to obtain disclosure of records of police misconduct. The leader of that team, Tenaya Rodewald, also worked with First Amendment Coalition to create a police transparency guide so that our community members can effectively exercise their right to know.

The events of May 25, 2020, and the protests that followed will forever live in infamy, but hopefully the movement that followed will be remembered as a time when law firms and corporations sought to do more than pay lip service to important social issues across the country and began to ask “what can we do?” and tried to become active bystanders internally, in their own communities, and within the nation at large.

For law firms, the reaction to the tragedy was also hopeful, as we witnessed so many attorneys embrace pro bono and reinforce their commitments to the rule of law, justice, and accountability.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. or its owners.

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Dan Brown became Sheppard Mullin’s first dedicated Pro Bono Partner in August 2020. Previously, he oversaw the firm’s pro bono practice while maintaining an active litigation practice. In 2015, he received the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award. Sheppard Mullin received a Pro Bono Publico Award this year from the ABA for its work on ABLE and other pro bono projects.