Minneapolis police chief speaks with George Floyd's brother for the 1st time via CNN
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo visited the scene of George Floyd's death to pay his respects on Sunday, and he told CNN's Sara Sidner he had no hesitation about firing the four officers under whose custody Floyd died. One of the officers, now charged with manslaughter and third-degree murder, kneeled on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. "There are absolute truths in life," Arradondo said. "We need air to breathe. The killing of Mr. Floyd was an absolute truth that it was wrong. And so it did not take, I did not need days or weeks or months or processes or bureaucracies to tell me that what occurred out here last Monday, it was wrong."
Sider told Arradondo that Floyd's family was live on CNN and asked if he had any comment for them. He took of his hat and said he was "absolutely, devastatingly sorry for their loss," and he would do anything to bring Floyd back. CNN's Don Lemon asked Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, if he wanted to ask the police chief anything, and Sider interrupted Arradondo to relay his question about whether the chief will convict all four officers, not just the one who kneeled on his brother's neck. Arradondo noted he isn't a prosecutor but said as far as he's concerned, all four officers are "complicit" in Floyd's death.
"Being silent, or not intervening, to me, you're complicit, so I don't see a level of distinction any different," Arradondo said. "Mr. Floyd died in our hands, and so I see that as being complicit." Philonise Floyd, who said this was his first communication with Minneapolis police, wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer. "They have enough evidence to fire them, so they have enough evidence to arrest them," he said. "I don't know who he's talking to, but I need him to do it, because we all are listening." Watch the entire exchange below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Democrats push for ICE accountabilityFeature U.S. citizens shot and violently detained by immigration agents testify at Capitol Hill hearing
-
The price of sporting gloryFeature The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off this week. Will Italy regret playing host?
-
Fulton County: A dress rehearsal for election theft?Feature Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's de facto ‘voter fraud’ czar
-
Hong Kong jails democracy advocate Jimmy LaiSpeed Read The former media tycoon was sentenced to 20 years in prison
-
Ex-Illinois deputy gets 20 years for Massey murderSpeed Read Sean Grayson was sentenced for the 2024 killing of Sonya Massey
-
Sole suspect in Brown, MIT shootings found deadSpeed Read The mass shooting suspect, a former Brown grad student, died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
