Mark Osler

In the News: Osler on Police Officer Convictions

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Law professor Mark Osler comments for the Washington Post on the case of the former school safety officer Eddie Gonzalez who is being charged with murder after fatally shooting a young woman.

From the article: Although murder convictions for police officers are still relatively unusual, recent emblematic cases, like former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted in Floyd's the death, reflect a shift in prosecution of law enforcement, some experts argue.

"Traditionally, convictions of police officers were highly unusual because officers were not charged in the first place, as prosecutors and officers were usually aligned, which would often get in the middle the process," Mark Osler, professor of law at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis said in an interview Thursday. "That is changing."