George Floyd Was in Handcuffs

But as we all watched the police officer ground his knee into his neck, we slowly realized: We were watching a murder.

The picture above may be a bit much for you. It’s hard to look at it as I write this. I believe that by this time in the frame, George Floyd’s spirit was gone. But I’m forcing myself to look at this picture. Go ahead. Take a closer look. We all need to remember. This is what murder looks like.

Don’t stop believing your lying eyes.

Three other police officers held off the crowds as George Floyd breathed his last. In the video, concerned bystanders approached in an effort to save Mr. Floyd’s life. The officer pulled out a can of mace and pointed it at the group. His officer accomplice became even more aggressive — so the crowd backed off.

Did I mention that George Floyd was in handcuffs?

How do we know he breathed his last? He didn’t make it to the hospital. When the paramedics arrived, they said he wasn’t breathing. Frankly, the press should stop reporting that Mr. Floyd died later at the hospital. The paramedics tried and they tried while they were still in the ambulance, but he was already gone.

He died right there on the street, on the asphalt, as the officer ground his knee into his neck for eight long, torturous minutes.

At this point, it’s been three days. In spite of the video, the inhumane treatment we all witnessed, and the agony of a handcuffed, unarmed man — there have been no arrests. Did the prosecutor not see what we see?

We are so easy to kill.

We watched the first press conference. It was a total waste of time. They said nothing new. More importantly, they did not order the arrest of the four police officers who participated in the death of George Floyd. There’s a good chance they could’ve prevented the burning of Minneapolis that night if they’d followed justice and common sense. But it looked like they were waffling. Hence the anger…

The video the whole world saw was very damning. Is violently digging a knee into someone’s neck an acceptable police procedure in Minneapolis, Minnesota? Governor? Anyone?

Minneapolis burned. The “Blacks” are looting! The “Blacks” are burning. Not so fast. The city is 63.8% White. Most of the protesters are White. LOOK AT THE CROWDS. I watched both races loot the Target store. That’s why the police aren’t shooting. They don’t dare. It was just like the Michigan protests. Don’t want to get shot?

Bring in White people.

And do you notice? As the third night of the protest goes late into the evening, as the crowd burned the 3rd precinct down to the ground, the police have disappeared.

What a night.

What you see running the streets screaming, “I can’t breathe!” are people of all races who are sick to death of the injustice they see in their city. The protests did start peacefully. But like a train that gathers speed, their anger grew. They watched a murder in daylight, didn’t they? Can you frigging believe it? And then, they kept thinking about it, and they walked together, and the tension stretched, and it just blew. They lost it. They’re still crazy mad.

This is their city.

I can’t breathe.

Moments like this almost make you forget that there is a pandemic going on.

We all watched George Floyd take his last breath. Oh God in heaven! How could we let this happen?

So they rage.

Excuse me while I take a side note: When seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin, with his skittles and ice tea, was murdered, Eric Garner (selling single cigarettes), Breonna Taylor (sleeping; police entered the wrong apartment), and Ahmaud Arbery (jogging) were all doomed. Their fates were sealed because the earlier murders were never handled properly. And you may remember that Trayvon’s murderer was set free…

Injustice will set a city on fire.

The entire world is watching.

They’re watching as twin viruses (the coronavirus and racism) take over America. In both cases, the curse of denial prevented action. In both cases, you have unnecessary death. You won’t stop what you won’t see.

I can’t breathe.

Oh, yes. Some will say, but what did he do?

It doesn’t matter.

There is no excuse. There was a report of a fake $20 bill at a store. After the police arrived, there were several cameras, each from different views — and none showed George Floyd fighting the officers. But let’s say that Mr. Floyd did have a counterfeit $20 bill…Would that really be a death sentence?

I don’t think so. Not in your worst nightmare.

Besides…as we may recall, Mr. Floyd was placed in handcuffs immediately. Were they afraid he would break out of them? Not likely. And even then, he was still placed on the ground and still, as we witnessed, kneed to death.

As George Floyd lay on the ground, unable to breathe, he called for his mother in a thick, choked voice, and my heart just crumbled. They wouldn’t let him breathe. I think we all knew that he was dying then. She died two years before, but he still called out to her as he was tortured to death. What pain he must have suffered!

The knee is a symbol. It’s a symbol of the oppression of racism on people of color not only in Minneapolis but in the United States. It’s a deep stain that we can’t seem to scrub away; it’s forging tiny cuts to the soul of every American every time we allow injustice to flourish.

These officers have lost their jobs. But it is not enough.

“Mama! I’m through!” George Floyd cried.

Did the prosecutor not see what we saw?

The officers need to be brought to justice.

Not one, not two, and not three.

All four of them.