Tag: George Floyd

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All George Floyd’s Killers will be tried together in televised case

A Minnesota judge has declined requests from the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd, ruling that all four will be tried in a single proceeding which will be televised despite state prosecutors not consenting to any audio or visual coverage in the courtroom, MSN News reports.

The Wednesday night order, from Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, also denied requests from defendants Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Kiernan Lane to have the trial moved out of Minneapolis. The defendants had previously argued that remaining in the city would violate their Sixth Amendment right to a fair proceeding due to the amount of pre-trial exposure.

In allowing the proceedings to be televised, Cahill reasoned that the defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial ran concurrent with “the general public’s First Amendment right of access to public trials.”

“The interests promoted by this First Amendment right of public assess are similar to those promoted by the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial,” the judge said.

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Racial profiling

George Floyd’s Murder Mocked in Franklin New Jersey – Video

When the world watched the murder of George Floyd on their television a few weeks ago, Americans and the rest of the world took to the streets to protest what they saw. But not all were upset with the killing, some people were fine with it and these people, as it turns out, just happens to be Trump supporters.

During a recent protest, some white men in New Jersey chose to celebrate Floyd’s killing by re-enacting the horrific event. According to local news, one of the men – a FedEx employee – was fired for his part in the re-enactment. The other, a State worker, is currently suspended.

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Featured Racial profiling

Al Sharpton Announces Plan to March on Washington on August 28

While speaking at George Floyd’s funeral today, Rev. Al Sharpton announced plans for another march on Washington which would coincide with the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech.

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Featured Racial profiling

Congressional Democrats Mark George Floyd’s Murder with Moment of Silence

George Floyd’s murder was broadcast on national television. Americans and the world watched in horror as one Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck until the life left his body. Another officer stood watch, making sure no one interfered with the task at hand. And another two officers helped by holding Floyd’s lifeless body to the ground. 

The killing sparked outrage, and Americans took to the street. This time, the protests felt different. This time, Americans of all races and ethnicities voiced their disgust in the way blacks in this country is treated. This time, even those in Congress… though only the Democrats… are paying attention.

Senate Democrats on Thursday held a moment of silence lasting eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time that George Floyd was held down by a police officer, who kept his knee pressed on Mr. Floyd’s neck even after Mr. Floyd became unresponsive.

The moment was also meant to honor Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old black man killed while running down a suburban street in Brunswick, Ga., and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black medical worker who was shot by the police at her home in Louisville, Ky.

Standing six feet apart next to a statue of Frederick Douglass in Emancipation Hall on Capitol Hill, it appeared to be the first moment the Democratic caucus had gathered in one place since the coronavirus pandemic began to spread through the Capitol.

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Featured Racial profiling

David McAtee Shot and Killed by Police while Protesting George Floyd’s Murder

LOUISVILLE,  Ky. — A city reeling from four straight nights of violent protests woke Monday to learn that the owner of a beloved West End eatery had been shot by police and National Guards troops responding to gunfire, Courier-Journal reports.

David McAtee, known in the Russell neighborhood for his popular barbeque stand outside of Dino’s Food Mart, was killed early Monday morning as Louisville Metro Police and National Guard were trying to break up a “large crowd” in the parking lot of the mart at West Broadway and 26th Street. He was 53.

Gov. Andy Beshear ordered Kentucky State Police to investigate the shooting, which will be a joint effort between the FBI Louisville Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District, federal officials said.

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Featured Racial profiling

Before George Floyd – More Police Brutality captured on film – Video

We are currently in yet another nationwide backlash over police brutality. We sat in the comfort of our homes and watched as Minneapolis police knelt on the neck of a human being – a black man – for almost nine minutes in an obvious effort to end the man’s life.

It worked. George Floyd’s last words included calling for his mother and begging the cops for another chance to breathe. Witnessing his death caused Americans of all races to take to the street in protest what they saw on television.

But what about the times the event was not captured on film? Or are we to believe that the only time blacks are murdered by police is when a cellphone is around? That likelihood of that being the case is laughable. 

Below is a compilation of a few times the event was captured on film.

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BLM Featured Racial profiling

Gregg Popovich – Donald Trump is “a deranged idiot”

Gregg Popovich, Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs, went in on Donald Trump and his inability to lead this country in this time of need. Speaking to The Nation’s Dave Zirin, Popovich condemned Trump as a “deranged idiot” concerned only with what benefits himself. He concluded that “what we have is a fool for president.”

“It’s so clear what needs to be done. We need a president to come out and say simply that ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Just say those three words. But he won’t and he can’t. He can’t because it’s more important to him to mollify the small group of followers who validate his insanity. But it’s more than just Trump. The system has to change. I’ll do whatever I can do to help because that’s what leaders do. But he can’t do anything to put us on a positive path because he’s not a leader.

“It’s like what Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz used to say when they had the courage to say it: He’s unfit. But they have chosen instead to be invisible and obsequious in the face of this carnage. In the end what we have is a fool in place of a president, while the person who really runs the country, Senator Mitch McConnell, destroys the United States for generations to come. McConnell has destroyed and degraded our judicial system. He has tried to destroy health care. He’s destroyed the environment. He’s the master and Trump’s the stooge, and what’s funny is that Trump doesn’t even know it. Trump’s always wanted to be part of the in-group, but McConnell is an in-group of one, and Trump plays the fool.

“He’s not just divisive. He’s a destroyer. To be in his presence makes you die. He will eat you alive for his own purposes. I’m appalled that we have a leader who can’t say ‘Black Lives Matter.’ That’s why he hides in the White House basement. He is a coward. He creates a situation and runs away like a grade-schooler. Actually, I think it’s best to ignore him. There is nothing he can do to make this better because of who he is: a deranged idiot.”

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Racial profiling

Brutal Police Actions Against Police Brutality Protesters – Video

Dressed in riot gear police pepper-spray one of two protesters who attempted to block the first convoy of military vehicles out of the Port of Olympia Sunday morning bound for Fort Lewis.Tension at the scene eased after that initial confrontation as later convoys left the terminal without any major incidents.Steve Bloom/The Olympian

George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police last week was broadcasted for the world to see, and it sparked outrage throughout this nation. People from every race and background took to the streets in protest, exercising their constitutionally protected right to speak out against police brutality. But while protesting police brutality, some police officers are using this occasion to fight the protestors, violently and brutally.

See this 20-minute compilation video showing just some of the many police brutality claims since George Floyd spent the last 9 minutes of his life with the knee of a police officer on his neck.

Video 

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Featured Racial profiling

Obama’s Statement on George Floyd’s Killing – “This shouldn’t be normal in 2020 America”

Barack Obama, the former President of the United States, shared his feelings on the recent killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police earlier this week. In his statement, the former president states:

From Barack Obama:

I want to share parts of the conversation I’ve had with friends over the past couple days about the footage of George Floyd dying face down on the street under the knee of a police officer in Minnesota.

The first is an email from a middle-aged African American businessman.

“Dude I gotta tell you the George Floyd incident in Minnesota hurt. I cried when I saw that video. It broke me down. The ‘knee on the neck’ is a metaphor for how the system so cavalierly holds black folks down, ignoring the cries for help. People don’t care. Truly tragic.”

Another friend of mine used the powerful song that went viral from 12-year-old Keedron Bryant to describe the frustrations he was feeling.

The circumstances of my friend and Keedron may be different, but their anguish is the same. It’s shared by me and millions of others.

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 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 if 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.

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