Minneapolis police chief speaks with George Floyd's brother for the 1st time via CNN


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
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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.
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