Minneapolis Mayor Calls For Charges In George Floyd Death
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey is getting in touch with the Hennepin County Lawyer’s Office to criminally charge the white law enforcement officer who was recorded kneeling on George Floyd’s neck prior to he passed away.
“I’ve wrestled with one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” Frey stated in an interview Wednesday. Floyd, who was Black, passed away following his encounter with Minneapolis authorities on Monday.
“If you had done it, or I had, you’d be behind bars right now,” Freyadded “I’m calling on the Hennepin County attorney to charge the arresting officer in this case.”
“We cannot turn a blind eye,” the mayor stated. “George Floyd deserves justice, his family deserves justice, the Black community deserves justice.”
Hennepin County Lawyer Mike Freeman has yet to reveal charges in the case. His office did not instantly react to an ask forcomment In a declaration Tuesday, his office stated they were “shocked and saddened” by the now-viral video, keeping in mind the FBI and Minnesota’s Bureau of Lawbreaker Apprehension are examining the event, after which they’ll make a decision on prosecution.
On Tuesday night, numerous people took to the streets in Minneapolis, objecting Floyd’s death and getting in touch with the officers included to be charged (all 4 have actually been fired).
Asked why the mayor was making the call for the county to arrest and charge the officer, recognized as Derek Chauvin, Frey stated that based upon what he saw in the video, “the officer who had his knee on the neck of George Floyd should be charged.”
The video revealed Floyd, who was handcuffed and unarmed, being held face-down by a Minneapolis law enforcement officer, who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck as he pleaded, “I can’t breathe.” Floyd ultimately closed his eyes and stopped speaking. Authorities required an ambulance and Floyd passed away quickly after getting here at a medical facility, the Minneapolis Authorities Department stated.
“How could I not speak out when an offense took place that you or I or many people in our city would have been behind bars if they did? Yet this particular officer was not,” headded “And by the way, Black men have been put in prison before for far, far less.”
Protesters collect requiring justice for George Floyd on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Minneapolis..
As Tuesday’s demonstrations moved from the website of Floyd’s arrest to the regional authorities precinct, police in riot equipment came to the scene and introduced what seemed tear gas into the crowd.
Inquired about the heavy police action to protesters, Frey stated that he “gets the need to protest,” however that “those rights must stop when others’ safety is put at risk,” keeping in mind how some law enforcement officers’ cars and trucks were busted and structure glass was broken by some demonstrators. He stated he relied on the judgment of the city’s authorities chief, whom he called “an exceptional leader in our Black community.” He likewise got in touch with people to not “lump in” the “99%” of protesters who showed in harmony with those who didn’t.
Frey detailed even more why he picked to openly contact the county lawyer to charge the officer in this case.
“We watched for an excruciating 5 minutes as a white officer pressed his knee into the neck of an unarmed, handcuffed Black man,” Frey stated. “I saw no threat, I saw nothing that would signal that this kind of force was necessary.”
“We are not talking about a split-second decision that was made incorrectly,” the mayoradded “There’s somewhere around 300 seconds in those 5 minutes. Every one of which, the officer could have turned back. Every second of which he could have removed his knee from George Floyd’s neck. Every one of which he could have listened to the community around him clearly saying he needed to stop. Every one of which you heard George Floyd himself articulating the pain he was feeling, an inability to breathe. I can’t see coming to a different answer there and I think it’s incumbent on all of us to say that.”
Calling all HuffPost superfans!
Register For membership to end up being an establishing member and assistance shape HuffPost’s next chapter
The post Minneapolis Mayor Calls For Charges In George Floyd Death appeared first on World Weekly News.
