Gov. DeSantis wants accountability for George Floyd; deploying 500 guardsmen to D.C.

Ron DeSantis.

Gov. Ron DeSantis wants accountability for the four police officers involved in George Floyd‘s death, but stressed the importance of the rule of law.

Outcry over the Floyd’s death, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, erupted across the country last week and into the weekend. To help quell protests in the nation’s capital, DeSantis is sending 500 members of the Florida National Guard who will arrive in Washington Wednesday.

On Monday, the Governor denounced Floyd’s death as appalling in a statement, but waited until his public appearance Wednesday to give his most comprehensive reaction yet.

“When I saw the video of that cop murdering George Floyd, I was just absolutely appalled by what I saw, but I immediately asked folks at FDLE and others, ‘How in the hell could you get away with even doing that tactic?'” DeSantis said. “And sure enough, the state of Florida, you do not put knee on a neck like that. That is not good training.”

The Governor also expressed interest in viewing the previous complaints against the officer and swift accountability for the other officers on the scene who didn’t prevent the death.

“I think what made this even more egregious, the guy was handcuffed,” he added. “It’s like, are you kidding me? So really, really bad.”

DeSantis stressed holding people with positions of authority accountable to keep those inclined to abuse their power in check.

“You do have some of these people that think they can get away with everything and they think the badge gives them the ability to treat people poorly,” the Governor said. “You’ve got to identify those people and you’ve got to get them out, and when you get them out, I think that the rule of law is better and I think our citizens will be safer as a result.”

As President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the United States military on Monday to quell violence, the sound of police officers pushing back nearby protesters rang out. At the request of Defense Secretary Mark Esper 500 Florida guardsmen have been deployed to the capitol.

“The federal government’s helped out Florida in a number of different ways since I’ve been Governor, and obviously before, and so when they have a request, I felt it was important to step up and to help out with that,” DeSantis said.

He again stressed that the state won’t tolerate rioting, looting or violence. And he thanked the guardsmen and Florida Highway Patrol troopers that have been activated to keep the peace at demonstrations in the state.

“I also want to thank the peaceful demonstrators who have engaged in lawful First Amendment activity, some of whom have helped to stymie attempts of some protesters seeking to engage in violent activities,” DeSantis said, adding that being peaceful is the “name of the game.”

Protests in Miami, Tampa and elsewhere across Florida and the country turned to looting and vandalism. However, protests were peaceful Monday night and into Tuesday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported 90 arrests in Tampa, 28 arrests in Orlando and arrests in the Fort Myers and Miami regions.

“Statewide, there have been respectful gatherings of large crowds with isolated instances of individuals who would take the opportunity to exploit these events, usually at night, to engage in unlawful activities,” DeSantis said.