A man was pressed down onto concrete with a solid 200 lbs sitting directly on his neck. He cried out for water. He cried out for his deceased mother, and once he realized he could no longer breathe, he cried out for mercy and he begged for his life. His nose bled and he lost control of his bladder. Yet he remained trapped and handcuffed under the weight of an officer’s knee.
Onlookers tried to intervene only to be threatened with pepper spray. Even when he lost consciousness, the weight of that knee stayed firm on his neck. When first responders demanded they check for a pulse, the cops refused. When off-duty medical personnel begged for the officer to get up, they refused.
America watched a man being killed in broad daylight for 10 agonizing minutes.
I understand people will dig through everything he’s done wrong in his life. I understand that people will roll their eyes at this. We will see his mug shot and he will become a villain even though surveillance video does not support police claims that he resisted arrest. But there is no crime that justifies this punishment. Whether he has a criminal history or mental health issues, there is no justification for his death.
His name was George Floyd