Two members of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners asked the county attorney Thursday to “immediately arrest and press charges against the officers involved in the murder of George Floyd.”
All four officers involved in the tragic Monday night incident have been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department, including Derek Chauvin, the officer who was recorded pressing his knee into the neck of a handcuffed Floyd.
After a night of riots and destruction, Hennepin County Commissioners Angela Conley and Irene Fernando called for the immediate “arrest” of all four officers.
“We have all seen the disturbing video of Mr. Floyd’s final minutes and it is clear he was killed by Minneapolis police,” the two said in a letter sent Thursday to Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Freeman. “The community response we are experiencing is directed both at the outrage of this specific killing and the oppressive systems that allowed it to happen.”
The commissioners went on to call “policing in America” a “militarized and white-supremacist enterprise.”
“We call on you, County Attorney Freeman, to set a new precedent in how you approach police violence and respond to the needs of our shared constituents. There were four officers involved in the murder of a black man on Memorial Day. We expect you to charge them to the fullest extent of the law and to spare no efforts in obtaining guilty verdicts,” the letter concludes.
Today I made a joint call with @HennepinD2 calling for the immediate arrest and conviction of officers involved in the murder of George Floyd. pic.twitter.com/g4eB4Fbpqo
— Angela Conley (@D4Commish) May 28, 2020
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in a statement that both the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are investigating the case.
“At the end of the investigation, the findings will be presented to our office for consideration of prosecution. We promise a thorough, expedited review consistent with our on-going commitment to justice. Every person is entitled to fairness; no person stands above the law,” said the statement. “Our office will have no further comment until we announce our decision on prosecution.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Angela Conley and Irene Fernando” by Irene Fernando.
