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UPDATED: Unraveling of America Continues: Mpls Mayor Jacob Frey “Being black in America should not be a death sentence”

Pastor Dewey Moede
10 MINUTES AGO
Four officers were fired after a video showed one of them kneeling on a handcuffed black man’s neck and ignoring pleas that the man couldn’t breathe. The FBI is joining the Minnesota BCA in the investigation into George Floyd’s death. “Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” said a visibly shaken Mayor Jacob Frey. A protest included tense confrontations with police, who responded with tear gas.
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  • I asked my Dear Friend Jim Langley if I could post his comments………
    Jim Langley 

    Warning, lengthy rant coming up…

    America, we have a problem! And it’s time for change. When people are angrier about a black man kneeling during the national anthem than they are a white police officer kneeling on the neck of a black man until that man dies, we have a problem. And I don’t want to hear that we don’t know the whole story about Mr Floyd’s death. We know everything we need to know.

    He was on the ground…handcuffed…subdued. He posed no threat at that point. Instead, he was begging for help. He couldn’t breathe. He was literally dying. And yet the one who’s job is to serve and protect did nothing…nothing but continue to kneel on his neck. There were other officers there. They could see what was happening…they could hear Mr Floyd’s distress…and they did nothing.

    We have a problem in our nation and it’s time to name it for what it is: racism, bigotry, hate, a lack of concern or compassion for anyone but ourselves.

    We are not the shining city on a hill we thought we were. Walk the streets of the city and you’ll see. There is an ugliness here…and it’s time to say, “Enough!”

    My dad was a recovering alcoholic. The only way he was able to change was, first, admitting he had a problem. It wasn’t easy…in fact, it was ugly and painful and hard for all of us…but it had to be done. But once he named it, he was able to get help…to change.

    Until things like this never happen again, we should all be on our knees, because if we do nothing the guilt is on all of us.

    I know there are some who will disagree with me. Unfriend me now, if you choose, because I will not agree to disagree on this. There are too many examples…George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery, Sean Reed, Fernando Castillo, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown…those are just the names I can remember. The list is long…too long. And unless we do something, it’s just going to get longer. This is why he kneels…why we all should kneel.

    I also asked the Dodge County Minnesota Sheriff Scott Rose if I could post his comments….

    Dodge County Sheriff MN

    Yesterday I watched the video from the cities with MPD officers and George Floyd, a video that left me shocked, sad, frustrated, and angry. Last night I watched the 10pm news reporting the riots and protesting in Minneapolis – it left me shocked, sad, frustrated, and angry.

    Shocked that another officer didn’t step in and stop it. Sad seeing Mr. Floyd begging the officer to stop, saying he couldn’t breathe. Frustrated that any officer would think this was ok. Angry that Mr. Floyd lost his life because of this.

    The actions of these officers do not reflect the majority of great men and women who chose to serve and protect our communities. Men and women who still believe in right and wrong. Men and women who will put their lives on the line for you and your family any day of the week. Men and women who live and work in the communities they serve. Men and women who feel driven, who feel a calling to do their small part to help our community a safer place for us to live and raise our families. Men and women who sacrifice so much of their lives to help ours be a little better. Men and women who will always be there to help you regardless of race, gender, or political preference. Men and women who’s families also make sacrifices every day for us.

    Tragic incidents like this tear apart families and divide communities. That loss of trust makes our jobs as cops more dangerous and erodes the relationships and trust that the vast majority of men and women serving in law enforcement have worked so hard to develop in the communities we serve.

    More details will come out when bodycam video is released and reviewed. Unfortunately, that may lead to more questions than answers and won’t bring Mr. Floyd back.

    We don’t have body cameras here in Dodge County – the large expense of purchasing and maintaining this equipment has prevented most small agencies like ours from being able to afford them. We do have squad cameras in all of our vehicles that record audio and video – audio and video that’s available if a deputies behavior comes into question.

    We provide de escalation training. We provide Crisis Intervention Team training. We train on pressure control tactics – a knee on the neck is not part of any training we do with our staff. Please know we would never tolerate any tactics like this here in Dodge County, unless that officer absolutely felt his or her life was in jeopardy. That obviously doesn’t appear to be the case with Mr. Floyd.

    We do everything we can to make sure our staff has the equipment, support, and training necessary to keep themselves safe and keep the public safe – to prevent tragic incidents like the death of Mr. Floyd.

    Please keep Mr. Floyd and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Please keep the citizens of Minneapolis in your thoughts and prayers. Please keep the good men and women serving in the Minneapolis Police Department and other law enforcement agencies throughout the state in your thoughts and prayers.

    We are cops. We are also your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers, we are parents, our kids play together, we sit next to you at school events, we are co-workers, some of us are grandparents – we are a part of this community too. Together we need to stand strong as a community, continue to support our law enforcement and not judge all based on the actions of a few, always condemn behavior like this, and appropriately prosecute those at fault.

    We are in this together.

    Your Sheriff,

    Scott

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