CNN anchor Don Lemon was stunned on Thursday after the FBI asked for more information from the public regarding the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man, died on Monday after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes. There is video footage that was shot by a bystander, yet no charges were announced during a law enforcement press conference on Thursday. Lemon said he gets that the investigation needs to be "handled properly," but asked: "How much more video do they need? I keep saying as I'm watching that this is some sort of a joke."
Four police officers were involved in the incident, and Derek Chauvin, the officer who pinned Floyd down, has had 18 complaints filed against him. "Are they going to be arrested or are they not?" Lemon said. "Is this justice system going to work with these officers the way it works with the general public? Someone accuses you of something. The police, guess what they do — they come to get you. They arrest you and you have to deal with the legal system. Are we going to have the same legal system for police officers that we have for the average adult?"
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Lemon also channeled the protesters who are outraged by Floyd's death. "When you feel you have nothing else, when you don't have a platform, what do you do — you act out in the way you act out," he said. "People are sick of it." The last person who needs to get involved in the matter is President Trump, Lemon said, referring to him as "the birther-in-chief." "Nobody wants to hear from the man who wanted the death penalty to come back for the Central Park Five," he added. "No one wants to hear from the man who says that the former president was not born in this country. No one wants to hear from the man who says there are very fine people on both sides." Catherine Garcia
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