April 20, 2021

County Behavioral Health Directors Statement on the Guilty Verdicts in George Floyd Murder Trial

Verdicts bring accountability, but justice and healing work continues

Sacramento, CA – The County Behavioral Health Directors’ Association of California (CBHDA) released the following statement from Dr. Veronica A. Kelley, CBHDA President and Director for the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, on the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd:

“Today’s verdicts deliver an important measure of accountability for the death of George Floyd, but they cannot bring Mr. Floyd back to life, or repair the harm done to all those who witnessed his murder. While the jury did the right thing in issuing multiple guilty convictions, we know that reckoning with the layered trauma and injustice of racism will take continued work.”

“We are disheartened that Chauvin’s defense compounded the injustice of George Floyd’s murder by promoting inaccurate, racially biased stereotypes of substance use disorders as a justification for his death, and we applaud the jury for rejecting these baseless arguments. We are clear: each person, no matter their race or background, deserves an opportunity for recovery. George Floyd was not alone in his struggle with opioid dependence. Substance use disorders are a disease affecting millions, not a moral shortcoming to be put on trial.”

“The news of the verdicts in today’s trial are overshadowed by a long history of state-sanctioned violence toward communities of color and culture in the United States. In the last week alone, Americans have learned of officer-involved shooting deaths of at least two children, Adam Toledo, age 13, from Chicago and 15-year-old Makiyah Bryant of Columbus, Ohio, who is reported to have been killed when she called law enforcement for help. We know that racism leads to toxic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. Nationally, as of 2018, suicide became the second leading cause of death in Black children aged 10 to 14, and the third leading cause of death in Black adolescents aged 15 to 19. Behavioral health care will be essential as our nation tries to heal from these ongoing traumatic events.”

“Today, we renew our declaration that racism is a public health crisis, and our determination to work at the federal, state and county levels to address systemic racism and racial inequality, with communities at the center of this vital – and life-saving work.”

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