Esau McCaulley Assumes Police Murdered George Floyd

Dr. Esau McCaulley excerpts his book Reading While Black and writes on a Biblical view of policing in the latest Christianity Today.  He makes some good points, but near the beginning he discredits himself with an inflammatory assumption [Emphasis mine].

The dark silt of that history has been brought to the surface by recent events, most notably the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police. The many protesters who have marched in our nation’s streets bear witness to the fact that Floyd is not the first. Black Americans have been “under the knee” for not days or weeks but centuries, and this cumulative oppression is once again front and center in our national consciousness.

Thus McCaulley, for publication no less, assumes police murdered George Floyd.  He in effect writes that police intentionally killed Floyd; for murder implies intent.  Further, it is not clear just what killed Floyd.  One possibility is that an overdose of fentanyl killed him; the medical examiner’s report states that his blood had a level of that drug that can be lethal.

What makes McCaulley’s assumption worse is that the police involved are to stand trial, for 2^nd degree murder in Derek Chauvin’s case.  McCaulley does not seem to appreciate America much at times, but one good thing about this country is that our courts assume a man is innocent until proven guilty.  And responsible writers and publications usually take measures to respect that.  Newspapers make a point to print “alleged” murderer, or whatever the accusation is, when someone has not yet been convicted.  Both McCaulley and Christianity Today are reckless and irresponsible when they assume the guilt of murder, either legal or ethical guilt, particularly in such an unclear case.  And, yes, it is unclear.  (That police horribly mishandled a difficult situation is clear.  That it was murder is not.)

Further, in the midst of riots, arson, looting, and attacks on the streets, McCaulley’s assumption does not help matters. 

The above is bad enough.  What makes matters even worse is that McCaulley is a cleric in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and should therefore be all the more passionate and careful about truth.  Further he is responsible for recruiting other clergy as head of ACNA’s Next Generation Leadership Initiative.  And now he has been placed on ACNA’s Working Group on Race, Racism, and Racial Reconciliation.

It is difficult to see how McCaulley will be helpful in bringing about racial reconciliation when he so assumes a white policeman is guilty.  And Archbishop Foley Beach has requested restraint from ACNA clergy and that they defer to the Working Group for a season:

Specifically, regarding racial issues, we now have a Provincial Working Group on Race, Racism, and Racial Reconciliation which has begun meeting and who will present their results to the bishops in several months. Until then, it is time to listen and not to pontificate our specific political positions. Let us love our neighbors as ourselves.

McCaulley’s article may not be a technical violation of this request, particularly since he submitted it before the Archbishop’s letter.  But an apology and much more restraint forthwith is appropriate given his importance in ACNA and on the Working Group.

And if I were Christianity Today, I would edit the offending paragraph and fast for reasons both ethical and legal.  To assume in print a man’s guilt of murder in such an unclear case and before he goes to trial is not a trivial matter.