Renzo Downey
The Florida Police Chiefs Association on Monday joined the calls denouncing a Minneapolis police officer’s role in the death of George Floyd.
Chief Kenneth Albano, president of the Florida Police Chiefs Association, said the events last week need a “clear and unified message.”
“The Florida Police Chiefs Association condemns the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin, and we call for the speedy and impartial trial of Officer Chauvin on this charge,” he said. “On behalf of our entire membership, I sincerely offer our deepest heartfelt sympathies to the family of George Floyd. Mr. Floyd’s death was tragic, unnecessary, and totally preventable.”
He also announced the creation of a subcommittee of chiefs and community leaders to submit solutions to the Florida Legislature.
“The problems and issues facing our nation that led to this tragedy are varied and complex, and deeply entrenched in the very fabric of our society, but we cannot let this happen again. We can and must be better,” he said.
Chauvin, a white police officer now charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, is the officer at the center of a national outcry over Floyd’s death. Footage on social media showed Chauvin pin the now-deceased black man’s neck with his knee before Floyd went unresponsive.
But protesters have called for the other three officers on the scene during Floyd’s arrest to be charged as well.
“No law enforcement training — no policies — support what happened to Mr. Floyd,” Albano said. “The other officers who chose not to act and stop Officer Chauvin from killing Mr. Floyd as he repeatedly cried out for help are also complicit, and they showed an appalling lack of personal courage. The actions and conduct of all the officers involved were totally reprehensible and not in keeping with the high standards of conduct demanded by our profession.”
Albano lauded Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo for quickly firing the four officers and demanded accountability for Floyd’s death and an end to looting and rioting across the nation.
“To borrow Chief Arradondo’s own words when he was sworn in, the ultimate goal for all law enforcement leaders is a community that trusts us, that views us as the guardians of our communities.”
