Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said Sunday that all of the officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody, were “complicit” and that they should bear responsibility for his death.
Arradondo made the comments while appearing for an interview in which CNN correspondent Sarah Sidner conveyed a question from Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd. Asked by Philonise Floyd if Arradondo would “get justice” for his brother and arrest all of the officers involved, the police chief responded, “Being silent or not intervening, to me, you’re complicit.”
“So I don’t see a level of distinction any different. Mr. Floyd died in our hands, and so I see that as being complicit,” Arradondo added as he stood at the site of Floyd’s arrest, which is now serving as a makeshift memorial.
George Floyd, 46, died last week after being detained by officers who were responding to a report of a forgery in progress. Footage of the arrest, which showed a white officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe,” sparked widespread protests throughout the nation.
A day after footage surfaced of the arrest, Arradondo fired all four of the officers involved in the incident. The officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck, Derek Chauvin, was later arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Arradondo said Sunday that he moved to immediately terminate all of the officers involved in the arrest because it was clear their actions were wrong.
“There are absolute truths in life. We need air to breath. The killing of Mr. Floyd was an absolute truth that it was wrong,” he said. “I did not need days or weeks or months or processes or bureaucracies to tell me what occurred out here last Monday was wrong.”
In the days following the arrest, calls have mounted for all of the officers involved in the arrest to be charged. Philonise Floyd echoed that sentiment after hearing Arradondo’s comments Sunday, saying that Minneapolis Police Department arrests “guys every day.”
“They have enough evidence to fire them, so they have enough evidence to arrest them,” Philonise Floyd said on CNN. “I need him to do it. Black lives matter.”