A.G. Gancarski
Florida Senate President Bill Galvano weighed in Monday on the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, killed last week by police.
Streets around the country have been rocked by violence and wanton property destruction since.
While he backed the peaceful protests, Galvano had a warning for rioters filling streets in Florida and presumably elsewhere.
“Violent riots must stop. I support the efforts of law enforcement and National Guard troops who are working to protect the safety of people and property,” Galvano, a Republican from Bradenton, tweeted Monday morning.
The Senate President did not defend the actions of Minneapolis police, a number of whom stood there and watched as officer Derek Chauvin throttled 46-year-old Floyd, driving his knee into Floyd’s trachea for nine minutes.
“George Floyd’s death was criminal, as were the actions of officers who could have intervened,” Galvano said.
“Peaceful protests continuing across our country are an appropriate and important part of our American tradition, which I support as a means for voices to be heard when enough is enough,” he added.
The Senator has yet to address what is meant by “enough is enough.”
And with him leaving the Senate this year and no Special Session slated as of yet, it remains to be seen if the outgoing Senate President envisions any legislative remedy for the rancor filling the streets of major and indeed some less-than-major cities in the state.
The Senator’s supportive tweets follow Gov. Ron DeSantis activating the Florida National Guard over the weekend in response to pockets of urban unrest.
DeSantis’ spokeswoman, Helen Aguirre Ferré, tweeted Sunday that the activation had started on Saturday.
By Sunday, Tampa law enforcement saw 100 members of the National Guard as reinforcements.
An additional 490 troops are in reserve, in case action this week in cities around the state requires deployment.
George Floyd’s death was criminal, as were the actions of officers who could have intervened. Peaceful protests continuing across our country are an appropriate and important part of our American tradition, which I support as a means for voices to be heard when enough is enough.
— Bill Galvano (@BillGalvano) June 1, 2020
One comment
James
June 1, 2020 at 1:02 pm
Other than to throw a tantrum and sternly ask for the riots to stop our Senate president doesn’t seem to have any idea of how to get them to stop. He calls out George Floyd as a criminal who was trying to pass a counterfeit twenty, one thet he might not even have known it was counterfeit, and suggest he is just as crimminal as the murdering cops that killed him even though he was not resisting arrest. Bill Galvano is proving to be a racist heel and the type of person these protests and riots are expressing their disatisfaction with. Prove me wrong Bill and stop being a racist partisan!
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