I just can’t comprehend these officer’s thought process.
Four Minnesota Police Officers have been fired after their role in the death of George Floyd. A man who was being checked for an alleged forgery and had gotten into a physical altercation before being handcuffed on the ground. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is joining the investigation of Floyd. A disturbing video emerged on social media showing one of the police officers with his knee on the man’s neck as the man repeatedly yells out, “I can’t breathe.”
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Why didn’t they put the guy inside the cruiser, that’s why taxpayers bought those giant SUV’s for, so you can put people back there. The officers involved should be sued and fired for their actions. The action of these three literally puts the lives of Police officers all over the country at risk.
During a Tuesday morning news conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, “Being black in America should not be a death sentence. For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a black man’s neck. Five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic human sense.”
The mayor called the tragic incident “awful” and “traumatic.” He also said that “it serves as a reminder of how far we have to go.”
Frey released a statement on Facebook that said, “I believe what I saw and what I saw is wrong on every level. To our Black community, to the family: I’m so sorry.”
RELATED: [VIDEO] Man Dies After Minneapolis Police Pin Him To Ground By His Neck, Mayor Tearfully Apologizes [2]
The police department didn’t release the name of the victim, George Floyd, a family attorney Ben Crump did that.
“We all watched the horrific death of George Floyd on video as witnesses begged the police officer to take him into the police car and get off his neck. This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.”
“We will seek justice for the family of George Floyd, as we demand answers from the Minnesota Police Department. How many ‘white black’ deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?”
Four responding MPD officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been terminated.
This is the right call.
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) May 26, 2020 [3]
This type of stuff has happened, rampantly, for decades. The only reason we’re seeing it now is the proliferation of cell phones with cameras and the internet. Police and the media can’t cover it up anymore before it was suppressed.
My statement on the officer-involved death in Minneapolis: pic.twitter.com/HUoGfXEj7R [4]
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 26, 2020 [5]
I was under the impression that placing a knee, foot, or weight on the neck is a deadly force in most law enforcement and corrections settings, and not permitted except in a situation where you are defending yourself from serious physical harm or death, and different than other forms of approved holds, to restrain an individual.
In the original 10-minute video, it started the officer already had his knee on the person’s neck with his body weight for 4 minutes before Floyd passed out. The officer did not let up on Floyd’s neck until EMT arrived around the 8-minute mark. So that’s four minutes of Floyd being passed out from oxygen deficiency.
Another reason this is so terrible is that now the city will be sued, and taxpayers will be on the hook for whatever the city has to payout. These officers need better vetting and training. This should never have occurred.
The cop on his neck needs to go to prison for life without the possibility of parole. And at least ten years for the others who did nothing to stop this. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims family.
This piece was written by Wayne Dupree on May 26, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com [6] and is used by permission.