Area officials are condemning the killing of an unarmed African American man by a White Minneapolis police officer.
George Floyd died Monday after an officer held a knee to his neck for multiple minutes after responding to a forgery report. Minneapolis police say Floyd matched a suspect description and that he “physically resisted” officers after they removed him from his vehicle, though the officer seen restraining Floyd — Derek Chauvin — has been charged with third degree murder and fired Tuesday.
Nationwide protests and incidents of rebellion ensued after a bystander video of Floyd telling officers he could not breathe before becoming unresponsive circulated online. RCPD Director Dennis Butler called it “horrific” during a Friday special Riley County Law Enforcement Agency board meeting.
“I had the same gut reaction as when Walter Scott was murdered by a police officer in South Carolina and when Ahmaud Arbery was murdered in Georgia by vigilantes and then law enforcement and prosecutors were slow to do their jobs,” Butler told the Law Board. “There’s more examples I could cite.”
Butler says he does not tolerate willful or malicious mistreatment of citizens, but says it’s reasonable for people — particularly African American and other minority communities — to wonder if something similar could occur in Riley County. Butler says extensive review is conducted for every local use of force and response to resistance by RCPD officers to ensure such events do not take place.
“These are only words, so I ask that you judge us by what we do,” says Butler. “Know that we understand the pain many experience when watching the people sworn to protect them do the opposite.”
Manhattan Mayor Usha Reddi later released a statement and spoke to KMAN on the subject as well, calling Floyd’s killing “brutal,” “senseless,” and preventable.
“It is not lost on me how difficult it is to talk about race. It is not lost on me how institutional structures have perpetuated racism. It is not lost on me that it is not enough to be non-racist,” Reddi says. “But it is important to be anti-racist. And it is not lost on me that black lives matter.”
Reddi says work to reduce bias and address racism within the community and Law Board was already occurring, but reiterated commitment to such initiatives. Additionally, speaking with KMAN she called on families, schools and government officials to have tough conversations about race and for the entire public to continue working to build an inclusive Manhattan community.
“I feel a lot of pain and I really just wish I could hug all of my community members in Manhattan and around the United States,” she says. “We have a long way to go.”
“It is both an honor and a privilege to serve the people of Manhattan. Together, we will bridge the racial divide.”
The post Local Officials Condemn Floyd Killing, Call for Tough Race Talks appeared first on News Radio KMAN.
