Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have fought for this country’s freedom. But is everyone truly free? This Memorial Day, May 25, 2020, instead of remembrance and peace, was a day of injustice and violence. On Monday, George Floyd, a widely-loved 46-year old African-American man who grew up in Houston was murdered by four policemen, all white, in Minneapolis. A video from a bystander went viral that showed one of the policemen pinning Floyd in the neck with his knee to the concrete floor. The original arrest was made for suspected forgery. During the arrest, Floyd was on top of a blue car and was “suspected to be under the influence” as stated from the original report. He was asked to step away from his car and the department’s statement says, “After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress.” On Tuesday morning, the Minneapolis police updated the statement, with the first sentence reading, “Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction.” The statement said that no weapons were used in this arrest nor were any policemen injured. Yet the result is the death of a black man due to the violence of a white policeman. The video captures Floyd repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe. Please I can’t breathe.” Voices in the back are heard, pleading to the police to let Floyd free from the hold. Soon Floyd became unresponsive, but the policeman continued to dig his knee into Floyd’s neck. Shortly after being lifted into the ambulance, Floyd was announced dead.
The four policemen were fired for the involvement in the death of Floyd on Tuesday morning. A police spokesman, Garrett Parten, announced the removal of these policemen from employment. In a statement on Tuesday from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, he says he supports the decisions of the police department and believes “It is the right decision for our city. The right decision for our community, it is the right decision for the Minneapolis Police Department.” Frey also addresses that the pinning technique used on Floyd was against department regulations.
However, Floyd’s family spoke out, with another opinion about their family members death in an interview on Tuesday night with CNN. In the interview, Floyd’s family members hold up a picture of the young man as his brothers described him as a “gentle giant.” The family wants justice for Floyd and the right conviction for the murder of their loved one.
After the video was released, protests exploded in the street of Minneapolis with people holding signs and screaming, “No justice, no peace. I can’t breathe.” Tear gas was thrown at the protesters. More and more people are starting to see the issues surrounding this case. Today social media is covered with images of Floyd, recognition for this man and a fight for justice in the country. With this volume of backlash, the FBI have decided to open an investigation on this case with a focus on the Minneapolis Police Department’s involvement and actions in the death of Floyd.
Floyd’s cousin, Tera Brown, told CNN reporter, Don Lemon, “Being black in America should not be a death sentence.” Firing these policemen is not enough. This firing does not mean these men can go back into the field and continue to use their power to perpetuate racism and discrimination. Floyd’s death feels like dejá vú. This fight for lawfulness is for Floyd and the other deaths before that have resulted from police brutality and white supremacism. Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and far too many others that have been pushed under the rug. In America today, 1 in 1,000 black men and boys can expect to die from police brutality. That is 2.5 times more likely than white men and boys. Isn’t it ironic that a day of alleged freedom and peace was disrupted by an act of a breach of freedom and discrimination? Our country claims that police forces are made to protect its people. However, how can anyone feel safe if their family member or friend is being murdered by the same people that make these claims? White power has had far too many second chances and it’s time someone steps up and identifies the problem for what it is, rather than writing it off as an accident.