The Equal Justice Society joins demands from the Floyd family, Color and Change, and others that the police officers who killed George Floyd be charged with murder and that all the benefits accrued to them be stripped. Officer Derek Chauvin has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. There are still three other officers, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, who must also be charged for participating in George’s murder.
We are sickened by this latest senseless killing of a Black man. The history of this country has shown time and time again that it does not value the lives of Black people. The endless repeated cycle of police killing Black men, protests, firings, trials, lawsuits, more protests, attempted or cosmetic fixes via police officer trainings, and on and on has failed to prevent more murders.
It’s like a controlled fire, ravaging a particular section of our country deemed expendable or unnecessary to the whole. At EJS, we struggle to find an effective response or solution, but we join hands with the Floyd family and the calls for justice.
EJS President Eva Paterson on KQED Forum and Golden State Warriors Organization Town Hall
Eva joined KQED Forum this morning. From KQED: “There’s been an outpouring of anger, grief and demands for justice in Minneapolis after the death of 46-year old George Floyd who died Monday as a city police officer held his knee on the man’s neck for more than five minutes, leaving him to die on the street. Protesters broke into a police station in Minneapolis overnight and burned it, which the city’s mayor has said was understandable.” James Cook with the Burris Law Firm also called in to the show. LISTEN HERE
The Golden State Warriors also invited Eva to speak during an internal town hall with their employees held yesterday. WATCH HERE
CNN team arrested by Minnesota police on live television
CNN journalist Omar Jimenez has been taken into police custody during a live broadcast at the site of the protests in Minneapolis, after clearly identifying himself to officers. Jimenez’s crew, including a producer and a camera operator, were also placed in handcuffs. The CNN camera was also taken into custody and continued to record as the crew was handcuffed, with police seemingly unaware that the camera was still on. https://cnn.it/2MbJSKm
From Color of Change:
Officer Derek Chauvin has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. There are still three other officers, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, who must also be charged for participating in George’s murder. And currently, dozens of protestors have been detained and arrested for peacefully protesting. We’re calling for County Attorney Michael Freeman to press murder charges against all three other officers and release the protestors immediately.
Our petition has over 2 MILLION signatures. And officer Derek Chauvin has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder. This is a testament to REAL community power. Our communities are tired of a status quo that allows police officers to operate with impunity. It’s time for a change. We can’t give up. Let’s keep pushing!
It happened again. His name was George Floyd, and on May 25th he was murdered by Minneapolis police officers.
George Floyd was a Black man, who was murdered in broad daylight after a grocery clerk called the police thinking he was writing a bad check. For seven minutes, George laid on the street while officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao held their knee on his neck as he was struggling to breathe. He lost consciousness and yet they continued to strangle him. Numerous bystanders pleaded with the police officer to let him go, while Floyd said the words “I can’t breathe,” several times, but the officer refused to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck.
After the murder, officers called his death a “medical problem.” And it wasn’t until the video was released clearly showing them choking him, did we finally see the truth. This was a blatant and disgusting coverup to prevent accountability for their brutal act of police violence.
This is incomprehensible. His life was taken in a senseless act of violence at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, all for being “suspected” of writing a bad check.
Police continue to hunt down Black folks in cities across America and we refuse to sit silent. It was not too long ago we heard Eric Garner utter the same last words, “I can’t breathe.” And just months ago, officers stormed Breonna Taylor’s home and murdered her in a botched investigation.
On May 26th, officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, and two other officers who were present, were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department. This is a step in the right direction to hold the officers accountable for murdering George Floyd but more action must be taken. We are calling for further action from Mayor Jacob Frey and County Attorney Freeman.
Mayor Frey must 1) block the officers from receiving their pensions and 2) ban them from ever becoming police officers again. And County Attorney Freeman must immediately charge the officers with murder.