By now, the outrageous video is everywhere. It shows Minneapolis resident George Floyd, suspected of passing a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, lying prone on the ground, handcuffed, as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneels on his neck. Floyd is begging for mercy, gasping that he can’t breathe. Chauvin ignores the plea – and George Floyd dies. Here is the video – fair warning, not for children:
Minneapolis has erupted in riots. The country is at one with its anger. In the White House, the President was infuriated on seeing the video and has ordered the Justice Department and FBI to open a no-holds-barred investigation.
In addition to Chauvin, his fellow officers present on the scene – officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng. – have all been fired.
Now it emerges that Chauvin was no stranger to problems on the force. Fox News reports that Chauvin “has been the subject of 10 conduct complaints and three police shootings that led to no disciplinary action during his 19 years on the job.” Officer Thao “has been sued by a man who alleged Thao and two officers used excessive force during a 2014 arrest.”
Now, Minneapolis Mayor, Democrat Jacob Frey says this:
“‘I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd, not in jail?’ Frey asked during a news conference. ‘If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now.’”
Wait a second. Of the many questions that simply beg for investigation is: What in the world was Mayor Frey, the responsible officer of the Minneapolis government, doing when it came to overseeing his police department? Did he ever ask the police chief if there were officers on the force who had serious discipline problems? Did he ever inquire as to the training police officers received? Did he ever do anything about all of this?
God bless the citizens of Minneapolis and that goes double for the family of George Floyd. There is no place for rioting and looting. But peaceful protests? Let ‘em roll. This entire incident is outrageous – outrageous.
The officers certainly have a constitutional right to due process. But they are not the only ones who have to be held accountable for the murder – say again the murder – of George Floyd. Mayor Frey and his administration have to be held accountable, now.
Let the federal investigation begin.
