The three additional police officers who were present when George Floyd died are ‘complicit’ in Floyd’s death, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said Sunday.
Protests and riots have broken out across the country following the death of Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, according to video of the incident. The police officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Now Arradondo says the three additional officers who witnessed Chauvin’s actions and Floyd’s death are also complicit. (RELATED: Rioters Chase, Threaten Daily Caller News Foundation Reporter Through The Streets Of DC)
Approached by CNN’s Sara Sidner as he knelt and prayed near the spot where Floyd died, Arradondo spoke to Floyd’s family live, saying, “To the Floyd family, being silent or not intervening, to me, you’re complicit. So I don’t see a level of distinction.”
Hundreds of protesters gather in Manhattan’s Foley Square to protest the recent death of George Floyd, an African American man who killed after a police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck in Minneapolis on May 29, 2020 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“So, obviously, the charging and those decisions will have to come through our county attorney’s office,” he added. ” Certainly, the FBI is investigating.” (RELATED: White House Refuses To Address Why The Federal Government Did Not Protect The Monuments Honoring Our Nation’s Heroes From Rioters)
All four officers involved in the death of George Floyd were “complicit,” including the three who haven’t been arrested, says Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, responding to a question asked by @sarasidnerCNN on behalf of Floyd’s brother. https://t.co/JiE3Mx8xF2 pic.twitter.com/yalvaWfpDV
— CNN (@CNN) June 1, 2020
“But to the Floyd family, I want you to know that my decision to fire all four officers was not based on some sort of hierarchy,” the police chief said. “Mr. Floyd died in our hands.”
“Silence and inaction, you’re complicit,” Arradondo finished. “You’re complicit. If there were one solitary voice that would have intervened, that’s what I would have hoped for. … And that did not occur.”
Arradondo’s words come at a time when top officials usually maintain silence and avoid detailed or incendiary statements, Axios reported.
The conversation came after Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd demanded that the remaining three cops be arrested during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon.
“They’re at home right now sleeping in their bed, relaxing,” Floyd’s brother said. “[Chauvin’s] in jail, he’s only one. The other three need to be in there. My brother — he’s in the morgue. That’s not right. I want justice now. He deserves that.”
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