Police nationwide, in unequivocal and unprecedented language, have condemned the actions of Minneapolis police in the custody death of a handcuffed Black man who cried for help as an officer knelt on his neck, pinning him to the pavement for at least eight minutes.
Sheriffs and police chiefs have strongly criticized the Minneapolis officer on social media and praised the city’s police chief for his quick dismissal of four officers at the scene.
“I am deeply disturbed by the video of Mr. Floyd being murdered in the street with other officers there letting it go on,” Polk County, Georgia, Sheriff Johnny Moats wrote on Facebook.
Abdullah said the three other officers who witnessed Chauvin’s actions and did not intervene contributed to a long-standing system of police racism and oppression against people of color.
The heads of the Los Angeles and Chicago departments — both of which have been rocked before by police brutality scandals — addressed Floyd’s death and its potential effect on race relations between law enforcement and communities of color.
