Commentary As a child, I was taught to respect authority figures. As it was explained to me, clergy, teachers, police officers, and others help shape and maintain a just society. To this day, I still have a profound respect and appreciation for the 99 percent of law enforcement officers who literally put their lives on the line every day to keep the rest of us safe. But then there is that 9 minute 29 second video of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of the handcuffed George Floyd. It is heartbreaking to realize that the officer stayed in that position—trapping a subdued suspect—for several minutes after the prone man had stopped breathing. Chauvin ignored onlookers’ pleas for him to stop. He refused to move even as paramedics tried to take Floyd’s pulse and announced there wasn’t one. Chauvin stayed still until emergency personnel insisted they needed …