Former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has offered to pay for George Floyd's funeral and memorial services, and the family has accepted the offer.
Mayweather personally has been in touch with the family, according to Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. He will handle costs for the funeral on June 9 in Floyd's hometown of Houston, as well as other expenses.
TMZ originally reported Mayweather's offer, and said he will also pay for services in Minnesota and North Carolina.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker called for a national registry of police misconduct in order to keep a record of incidents in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.
“We have to create transparency and accountability,” Booker, D-N.J. said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
He said he was drafting legislation to set up a registry for cases of misconduct, use of force incidents, and people killed at the hands of police. He said he would move to change the section of federal law governing misconduct so make it easier to hold police officers accountable. He also called for a ban on racial and religious profiling.
We know what to do. There are things we can do. We are not helpless. We are not weak. We are strong,” Booker said.
“And so now it’s a time to take this energy and this anger and this focus and keep it, until we actually change laws and systems of accountability that can raise standards in our country.”
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) condemned the use of tear gas on peaceful protesters outside the White House on Monday evening.
She noted that authorities acted before the 7 p.m. curfew she had imposed for the city following protests that turned violent the night before and called the decision "shameful."
"I imposed a curfew at 7 p.m. A full 25 minutes before the curfew & without provocation, federal police used munitions on peaceful protestors in front of the White House, an act that will make the job of (DC Police Department) officers more difficult. Shameful!"
Minnesota's governor appointed state Attorney General Keith Ellison on Sunday to lead the prosecution of any cases arising from the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Gov. Tim Walz announced Ellison's appointment as lead prosecutor shortly after the Hennepin County prosecutor said he had asked Ellison to "assist" in the investigation, two days after 10 members representing Minneapolis in the state House asked Walz in a letter to transfer the case to Ellison.
"Unfortunately, our constituents, especially constituents of color, have lost faith in the ability of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to fairly and impartially investigate and prosecute these cases," the letter said.
"This decision is one that I feel takes us in that direction and the step to start getting the justice for George Floyd," Walz said.
Former NBA superstar Michael Jordan released a statement Sunday on the death of George Floyd:
During a Fox News interview Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison supported protesters in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and said black people have reason to fear Minneapolis police
“There is a history that has been repeated time and time again,” he said. “I want to say that many officers are great people. I know so many of them and I think the chief is an extraordinary person, and the mayor and the council deserve a lot of credit for appointing Mr. [Medaria] Arradondo. But it is an endemic problem in the Minneapolis Police Department.”
Ellison said that at least some of the blame for the problems rests with Minneapolis Police Federation President Bob Kroll, who he claimed “undermines good order in the department.”
The National Black Police Association (NBPA) released the following statement on the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers:
The National Black Police Association (NBPA) is revolted and dismayed at the May 25, 2020 killing of George Floyd while in the custody of officers of the Minneapolis Police Department, and specifically at the knees of Officer Derek Chauvin and under the watchful eyes of other officers. His death was unnecessary and grossly negligent. The question becomes the true intent of the officers, and the ongoing law enforcement conversation surrounding the preventable deaths of Black citizens, which is often an aspect of policing that goes unresolved in response to these deadly incidents.
On May 25, Minneapolis officers responded to a call for a suspected forgery. The police report says that Mr. Floyd was approached as he sat on top of a car and he “appeared to be under the influence.” They report that when asked to step from the car, Mr. Floyd physically resisted officers. They add that they were able to get him into handcuffs and that he appeared to be suffering from medical distress. Soon thereafter (as evidenced by video) Mr. Floyd lost consciousness and died, while Chauvin leaned on his neck with his knee, with his hands comfortably in his pockets.
As we now know from surveillance video, Mr. Floyd was in handcuffs as he was calmly walked over from the car and was seated nearby. There is video footage missing between that time and the time he ended up near a police car, with his head on the ground, and with Chauvin’s knee on his neck. The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis issued a statement, that included, “Now is not the time (to) rush to judgement and immediately condemn our officers.” Respectfully, no one can deny what was seen—that a man’s life was taken unnecessarily, and attempts to cite “training” and other common phrasing used after police-answerable deaths of Black citizens, does not relinquish the officers of responsibility or the criminal justice system of accountability.
We are pleased to know that Chief Medaria Arradondo took swift action in the firing of the four officers involved. We are pleased to know that the FBI is part of the investigation so quickly. We also expect appropriate charges, prosecution, and conviction for the killing of Mr. Floyd. However, true justice for Mr. Floyd and the Black community is long from done.
Let’s speak truths: In America, it is clear that the humanity of Black people appears invisible to law enforcement. What other explanation would there be for Chauvin to lean on the neck of a handcuffed Black man until he dies? Mr. Floyd’s cries that he could not breathe, that the officers were going to kill him, and cries for his mother were heart-wrenching, yet went unanswered by any of the four officers. Armed White men are allowed to stand on the steps of government buildings and protest that their liberty is being stepped on, unchallenged by law enforcement. But, too often, when unarmed Black citizens are alleged to have committed minor violations, freedom is no longer at play, and the door opens for death at the very hands of those who should be protecting and serving.
The National Black Police Association calls on police chiefs and executives, and our partners in social justice and criminal justice reform to take heed and appropriate action now! Our power is in our collective missions. This is not a time to remain silent, nor is it a time to just give polite platitudes and statements that we are watching or continue to repeat that officers must be held accountable. We already know that. What are we going to do about law enforcement abuses and continued trauma? What will we do to ensure complete and true justice in this and every other case that we “monitor?” Our communities are calling on us, and the NBPA is calling on you, like us, to step up your game.
National Black police Association
1725 "I" Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 855-TRY-NBPA (879-6272)
Email: nationaloffice@blackpolice.org
Website: https://www.blackpolice.org/
The National Black Police Association (NBPA) is a national organization comprised of sub-regional African American Police Associations, dedicated to promoting justice, fairness, and effectiveness in law enforcement. The NBPA has several chartered organizations throughout the United States and has associate members abroad, in Canada, Bermuda, and the United Kingdom. The core focus of NBPA centers upon Law Enforcement issues, with a strong emphasis on the effects of these issues on the African-American community. The NBPA serves as an advocate forum for minority police officers and establishes a national network of professional development and training for all police officers and those parties interested in law enforcement.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms condemned violent protests over the death of George Floyd that took place in her city on Friday, saying that the violence is “disgracing the life of George Floyd”
Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said he just received information that the officer identified as Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd has been taken into custody by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehenson.
Chauvin has been charged with 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter.
Harrington only mentioned that one officer had been arrested; no word yet on the other three Minneapolis police officers who have been fired.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama released the following statement on the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police:
"It’s natural to wish for life ‘to just get back to normal’ as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’ - whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.
"This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 in America. It can’t be ‘normal.' If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.
“It will fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death are investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done. But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station - including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day - to work together to create a ‘new normal’ in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.”
During a town hall meeting on Univision Kamala Harris called Floyd’s death a “public execution” and demanded a “federal investigation into civil rights abuses.”
George Floyd was begging to be able to breathe. By all counts this was a public execution. pic.twitter.com/YmkLkxppX0
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 27, 2020
Colin Kaepernick took to social media to react to the death of George Floyd, and the violent protests that came in the days after Floyd's murder.
This was Kaepernick's first comments since Floyd died in an officer-involved incident in Minneapolis on Monday. Video released from the arrest showed an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck while he screamed he couldn’t breathe.
When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction.
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) May 28, 2020
The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance.
We have the right to fight back!
Rest in Power George Floyd
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison tells Lawrence O’Donnell that the Minneapolis police chief made the right decision in firing the four officers involved in the death of George Floyd, who cried “I can’t breathe” as police restrained him by the neck. He says the investigations should proceed, but that shouldn’t mean the community “can’t express its outrage, disappointment and frustration.”
Rep. Al Green (TX-09) took to the floor of the House of Representatives and made an impassioned speech in which he said that Black lives don't matter as much as white lives do, and asked for a war on racism.
We need a war on racism because #BlackLivesMatter. pic.twitter.com/FMiFRyRQKZ
— Congressman Al Green (@RepAlGreen) May 27, 2020
Four Minneapolis police officers were fired on Tuesday after video emerged showing an officer pinning his knee against the neck of an unarmed black man who died following the arrest.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced during a press conference that the officers involved in the arrest were now “former employees," CBS Minnesota reported. The officers have not been named.
The decision came amid escalating outrage over footage showing a police officer pinning a black man to the pavement as he yelled “I cannot breathe!"
The man, identified as George Floyd by his family's attorney, died of a "medical incident" after being detained by officers, the Minneapolis Police Department said Monday.
The department said earlier Tuesday that the FBI would take part in its investigation into the incident, as calls for accountability mounted.
Disturbing video of George Floyd, a black man accused of forgery begging a Minneapolis Police officer to take his knee off his neck and let him breathe circulated online Monday night. The man was later declared dead at a nearby hospital. The man's death is now the subject of a state and federal investigation.
BREAKING: A video shows a Minneapolis police officer pinning down a black man by the neck with his knee for several minutes as the man screams: "I can't breathe."pic.twitter.com/V9K3IU36ap
— Mukhtar M. Ibrahim (@mukhtaryare) May 26, 2020
