Jaquay Williams: North Carolina cop says he was fired for slamming George Floyd accused officers in TikTok video
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA: A former police officer has claimed that he was fired from his job position after he criticized George Floyd officers in a TikTok video. Jaquay D Williams who referred to himself as Officer Williams in the video has reportedly questioned officers Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane following the May 25 death of Floyd. The clip was uploaded on May 27 in which Williams can be seen in his police uniform.
You can watch the video here.
The 29-year-old started the video by saying: “I am disgusted with the things that happened in Minneapolis. At the end of the day, let's talk facts. Guy on the ground, he's laying on his stomach, he has handcuffs on. There’s four of y'all, one of him. Who has control of the situation?" Then Williams described how the 46-year-old Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”, but the three officers failed to help him. “As an officer, you are a first responder... If someone is hurt, you have to render aid,” the ex-cop said. “That's the reason I got behind this badge, right? Because them officers that are afraid to step up, I want to be the one to step up. If I see wrong happening, wrong is not happening in my presence.”
According to reports, Williams’ video soon went viral and got more than 5.4 million views, over 1.6 million likes, and more than 46,000 comments. Most of the people have reportedly praised him for speaking up against the wrong. But his own department apparently did not appreciate his action.
Last week, Williams posted another video on TikTok claiming that the Greensboro Police Department has placed him on administrative leave to conduct an investigation into his TikTok account. “After that investigation was done, I find out today, I was relieved of my duties from that certain job. Upset, confused — I felt all emotions,” he said in the clip.
You can watch the video here.
However, the Greensboro Police Department told The Sun, “On August 13, 2020, the Greensboro Police Department terminated the employment of former officer Jaquay D Williams. Williams’ termination was not related to his comments about the George Floyd incident. GPD command staff noted they do not have an issue with any of his statements in the George Floyd video and agree with his denouncement of the officers’ actions."
This comes soon after the attorney of Lane — one of the cops allegedly involved in the death of Floyd — stated that the Black man’s overdosing on fentanyl while resisting arrest contributed to his death. Attorney Earl Gray argued that the charges against his client should be dropped since he did "nothing wrong" according to a new filing in the case.
The court document read: “All he had to do is sit in the police car, like every other defendant who is initially arrested. While attempting to avoid his arrest, all by himself, Mr Floyd overdosed on fentanyl. Given his intoxication level, breathing would have been difficult at best. Mr Floyd’s intentional failure to obey commands, coupled with his overdosing, contributed to his own death."