Fred Weinberg: Never Forget if It Weren't for George Floyd's Own Actions, He Would Be Alive Today
Did former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin properly handle George Floyd’s arrest?
No. (In my humble opinion.)
Did he commit murder?
Probably not. (Again, in my humble opinion.)
Here are the facts. George Floyd was a criminal. He moved to Minneapolis from Houston after serving four years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
Floyd had fentanyl in his system as well as methamphetamine. He resisted arrest.
This is not a poster boy for an innocent black man who was profiled by the police.
In point of fact, the police were called because Floyd had allegedly passed a counterfeit $20 bill at a local food store.
Now, while none of those individual offenses merits a death penalty, neither do they scream law-abiding citizen having a bad day.
And the death of that individual — no matter what a moron like Maxine Waters might dribble out of her mouth — does not justify a riot.
Was the arrest pretty? No.
But ask yourself this: What would have been a better response? “Oh, gee, Mr. Floyd. We’ll just overlook your criminal record, your resisting arrest and let it go?”
But for Mr. Floyd’s own actions, he would be sitting in jail, alive, today.
Elected prosecutors charged the police officer with two different counts of murder.
They almost always overcharge in these situations. At best, the officer committed conduct unbecoming of an officer. I’m pretty sure that no matter which way the jury goes (this is being written while they are still in deliberations) the people who are itching to riot will. And the response from authorities will be fairly lame.
I’ll suggest what was certainly not even close to being justified was the $27 million payday Floyd’s family got from the city of Minneapolis. The family had a criminal in its midst, he gets himself killed by being a criminal and the family gets a huge payday? And just before the trial of the officer involved?
How does that work? Do you think that the city of Minneapolis is going to get what it deserves?
If there is a California- or New York-style exodus from Minneapolis, would you be surprised?
What do you expect from a group of voters who elect people like Ilhan Omar to Congress and embrace “defund the police” as a solution for the ills of society?
And then there is our barely functional president, who at least waited for the jury to be sequestered before he said he is “praying for the right verdict” because the evidence against Chauvin is “overwhelming.”
I’m sorry, but every time a black criminal is killed resisting arrest is not an excuse for a riot.
If that sentiment makes me a racist, then so be it.
That will be Mr. Racist to you.
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