Minneapolis police chief calls George Floyd's death a 'violation of humanity', says ALL FOUR cops are culpable
Minneapolis Chief of Police Medaria Arradondo released a statement on Saturday, May 30, saying that the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man, was a "violation of humanity." The city's first black police chief, Arradondo, fired all four police officers involved in Floyd's death because he did not need "processes or bureaucracies" to tell him that the unarmed man's death was wrong.
Four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's brutal death were fired on May 26 after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The footage showed Floyd pleading with the officers as one of them, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck while the 46-year-old told them to let him stand because he could not breathe. The clip showed Floyd pleading with the officer to allow him to breathe and a few minutes later he became unconscious. Floyd's death has sparked massive protests and unrest in Minneapolis and across the country.
The police chief, while talking to CNN, said that he had a visceral reaction after watching the horrifying footage. "It was an emotional reaction that I have never experienced in my career," Arradondo said. "In my mind, this was a violation of humanity. This was a violation of the oath that the majority of men and women that put this uniform on, this goes absolutely against it."
"This is contrary to what we believe in. What occurred to me was an absolute truth that it was wrong. Period," the Minneapolis police chief continued. "Mr. Floyd died in our hands and so I see that as being complicit. Silence and inaction, you're complicit. If there was one solitary voice that would have intervened ... that's what I would have hoped for."
Chauvin, 44, was arrested last week on Friday, May 27, on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter. His bail bond has been set for $500,000. Meanwhile, other officers involved, identified as Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng, and Thomas K. Lane, have not yet been arrested. Floyd's family and demonstrators across the country have called for the arrests of remaining officers in the incident too.
Arradondo, when asked why the officers involved were fired so quickly, said: "There are absolute truths in life. We need air to breathe. The killing of Mr Floyd was an absolute truth that it was wrong. And so I did not need days or weeks or months or processes or bureaucracies to tell me that what occurred out here last Monday. It was wrong."
The police chief added: "At the end of the day our community members need to know that the men and women who put this badge on are doing so in service to them and they should not have to doubt their integrity and if they are going to be treated in a compassionate way."
Chauvin reportedly was set to appear in court on June 1, but his appearance was delayed till June 8 considering the widespread protests in the wake of Floyd's death. The 44-year-old has reportedly been transferred to a maximum-security facility at Oak Park Heights Prison.