The Death that Stirred a Nation, a President on Edge: George Floyd

On May 25^th 2020, George Floyd was senselessly murdered by Derek Chauvin a former Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer. The Arrest of Floyd 46, came after accusations by the owner of Cup Foods of passing off a fake bill, being drunk, and out of control.

Minutes after the initial call, former officers Lane and Kueng arrived on scene and briefly entered the Cup foods. Moments later the officers emerged and crossed the street towards Floyd, lane with his gun drawn. Floyd complied with the order to exit his vehicle, lane holstered his weapon and proceeded to arrest Floyd.

Events Unfold

According to several eyewitnesses Floyd informed police that he was claustrophobic and couldn’t breathe. Three other officers later arrived on scene. One officer guarded Floyd’s vehicle and the two passengers across the street. Chauvin and Thao headed towards Floyd. According to reports Floyd refused to enter the police vehicle. Chauvin reportedly pulled Floyd through the back seat and out of the vehicle from the driver’s side. Floyd hit the ground and laid there while still in handcuffs.

Several video recordings of the incident show Floyd laying face down with Chauvin’s knee in his neck, Lane holding his legs, Kueng on his Torso and Thao watching the entire incident. Floyd could be heard repeatedly saying I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, mama and please.  For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, George Floyd repeatedly pleaded with Chauvin to take his knee off of his neck. Over 15 times Floyd said “I can’t breathe”. Floyd went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The Nation Speaks

Following public outcry, four of the officers were placed on administrative duty on May 26^th and fired later that day. Protesters took to the street to demand justice for George Floyd and condemned the constant police brutality against African American citizens. Days later Chauvin was arrested on 2nd degree murder however, according to the nation this is not enough.

People of all over the world have taken to the street’s day after day in peaceful protest for equality. In the mist of these peaceful demonstrations there have also been a number of lootings throughout the country. There are reports that the looters have nothing to do with the peaceful demonstration. Looters are even beening accused of attempting to start a race war.

A number of celebrities like Jayz, Beyonce, TI, KeKe Plamer, John Boyega, Amber Riley, the weekend, Tory Lanes, Russell Wilson, Chrissy Teigen and many more have taken a stand to send a powerful message to our current leadership. Other Celebrities have even donated substantial amounts to the bails of incarnated protestors across the country. While Motivational speaks such as Eric Thomas, drove the point of equality being a consistent fight as opposed to a convenient one.

Obama’s Thoughts

President Obama has also weighed in on this crisis. Outlining potential paths that the country, in particular African Americans can take to effectively change the current climate for the better. Obama stands with the protester and praise their efforts. Obama spoke directly to young black people telling them “your life matters”.

“The small minority of folks who’ve resorted to violence” at many demonstrations are “putting innocent people at risk, compounding the destruction of neighborhoods that are often already short on services and investment and detracting from the larger cause.”

 “we should be fighting to make sure that we have a president, a Congress, a U.S. Justice Department, and a federal judiciary that actually recognize the ongoing, corrosive role that racism plays in our society and want to do something about it.”

Trump’s Command

President Trump took a different approach to this situation. Taking to twitter the current president threatened to end protest by using the Military. This allegedly comes after violence became more pronounced among the peaceful protesters. He demanded that Governors and Mayors call up the national guard to enforce his will. He threatened to send active duty soldiers to the states that would not comply with his order. Many have argued, this latest move is a ploy to potentially enforce Martial law. This comes on the heels of the recently lifted Covid-19 locked down. President Trump is allegly using active duty military personnel as a way to shut down peaceful demonstrations for photo op opportunities.

Governor Fires Back

Among Trump’s many critics Governor Andrew Cuomo, refused to activate the National Guard in the state of New York. An enraged Trump took to twitter vent his frustrations, calling out Cuomo for his refusal, while also criticizing brother and journalist Chris Cuomo for alleged declining ratings on CNN.

The Governor responded by say “The president wants to make it a reality TV show of God and country,”. “Call out the military and then I go to church and hold up a Bible.”

As the protest continue more citizens, as well as government officials have criticized the President’s handling of the protests. Insinuating his twitter fingers will put more citizens at risk. Many demanding he call off the military. Moreover, the escalation of force by federal, state, and local government have caused dozens of injuries to protesters. There are some departments however, who are standing with the protestors. Most notably Michigan Sheriff who took off his helmet and march with protesters.