As officer Derek Chauvin’s knee was pressed into the tender neck of George Floyd, the clock started ticking.
1 minute passes. Chauvin and his crew had responded to a call about an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill. All four officers are now surrounding or on top of Floyd, face down on the pavement.
2 minutes. Floyd can be heard on recording desperately pleading, “I can’t breathe, man. Please!”
4 minutes. Despite the arresting officers putting in multiple requests for emergency medical services for Floyd’s injuries, Derek Chauvin continues to press his weight against Floyd’s throat.
5 minutes. Floyd has now told the officers he cannot breathe a total of 16 times, crying. Onlookers start to express concern at the situation, over which officer Chauvin threatens to mace them.
At 6 minutes, George Floyd stops moving. His eyes are closed. When Chauvin is twice asked by a fellow officer if they should move the unresponsive Floyd onto his side, he denies it. Even afterthe requested ambulance arrives and an EMT checks his pulse, the knee remains firmly planted against Floyd’s airway for another two full minutes. The EMT must force Chauvin to remove his knee.
Derek Chauvin was on top of Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, despite being cooperative with the arresting officers. George Floyd died in a local hospital at 9:25pm.
It was utterly gut-wrenching having to watch the entire footage in researching this post. Watching a compliant civilian unequivocally get the life pressed out of them as they beg for their Mama… it lit an impossibly bright blaze within me of rage, sadness, and confusion. And I most certainly wasn’t alone.
In the days following Floyd’s murder, city streets across the nation and globe became packed with protests we haven’t seen the likes of since the parallel case of Rodney King. For my generation, this was perhaps our most stark, visible reminder of the work that remains undone as we work toward a nation that treats all its citizens as “We, the people.”
In modern America, the concept of protesting has joined the increasing list of hotly debated topics. For years, conservatives – a group that cannot seem to stop endlessly praising our First Amendment rights - have generally (if not passionately) been opposed to NFL player Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem (a gesture that was, notably, suggested to Kaepernick personally by an ex-Green Beret as a respectful form of protest).
If Kaepernick’s protests disturbed previously still waters, the murder of George Floyd detonated a bomb beneath the surface, thrusting the Black Lives Matter movement further into the mainstream spotlight than it had ever been before. While it’s rare to find those genuinely defending the actions of officer Chauvin, the wave of protests that ensued the incident certainly left the nation divided.
The news quickly became filled with images of burning police vehicles, broken store windows, and fights between protestors and cops, largely painting the movement as a violent one. In the coming days and weeks, countless videos would circulate social media showing police inciting violence on protestors. Many difficult, but important questions have been raised in the process: what are the effective limitations of "peaceful" protest? When, if ever, is violence justified? What part does the media play in stoking the divisive flames, increasing the tension? And perhaps most importantly, what do we do now?
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| Photo by Jakayla Toney on Unsplash |
At the end of the day, it’s a bunch of people (on both sides) attempting to apply their own broad principles on proper behavior to incredibly nuanced, circumstantial incidents. The problem, then, lies in the attention being diverted away from the actual systemic issues as actions of protestors take the spotlight, ultimately valuing material capital over human life. The good news? Though it may not feel like it, change is already being affected by these protests. The First Amendment Museum keeps a "Power of Protests" running archive of recorded progress being brought about, and it includes everything from officers being charged to statues being removed, and even a proposed $1 billion cut to the NYPD.
It is clearer than ever that progress does not occur without the public making their voices heard, and loudly. So I urge you, reader, to never stop fighting; not only for the sake of our democracy, but for your fellow person.
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