Minneapolis cops condemned former cop Derek Chauvin over the police-related slaying of George Floyd in an open letter to the community Thursday that comes after the City Council plans to disband the department amid calls for reform.
‘Dear Everyone – but especially Minneapolis citizens,’ the letter starts.
‘We wholeheartedly condemn Derek Chauvin. We Are With You in the denouncement of Derek Chauvin’s actions on Memorial Day, 2020,’ the letter says.
‘Like us, Derek Chauvin took an oath to hold the sanctity of life most precious. Derek Chauvin failed as a human and stripped George Floyd of his dignity and life,’ the cops explain. ‘This is not who we are.’
Minneapolis cops condemned former officer Derek Chauvin over the police-related slaying of George Floyd in an open letter to the community Thursday. Officers are pictured in riot gear responding to George Floyd protests that followed Floyd’s passing Memorial Day
The letter comes after the City Council plans to disband the department amid calls for reform that have come along with the protests over Floyd’s police-related slaying. Officers in riot gear are pictured during the demonstrations
‘We Are With You in the denouncement of Derek Chauvin’s actions on Memorial Day, 2020,’ the letter says, referring to the public’s outrage over Floyd’s passing. Demonstrators are seen blocking a state highway in nearby Saint Paul
We are with you and want to communicate a sentiment that is broad within our ranks. We ask that our voices be heard,’ the cops say in the letter which was posted on Documentedcloud, reports the StarTribune.
‘We are leaders, formal and informal, and from all ranks within the Minneapolis Police Department. We’re not the union or the administration,’ the letter explains.
‘We are officers who represent the voices of hundreds of other Minneapolis Police Officers. Hundreds,’ says the letter signed by 14 officers.
The department has about 800 sworn cops on the force and 300 civilian workers.
The cops in the letter say they are standing with Police Chief Medaria Arradondo.
‘We acknowledge that Chief Arradondo needs each of us to dutifully follow him while he shows us the way,’ write the officers.
The cops in the letter say they are standing with Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, who is pictured speaking with reporters about reforms on Wednesday
‘We stand ready to listen and embrace the calls for change, reform and rebuilding. We Are With You moving forward. We want to work with you and for you to regain your trust,’ the cops wrote to the community.
It ends, ‘Sincerely, Minneapolis Police Officers,’ and includes the names Mark Klukow, Charlie Adams, Darcy Klund, Christie Nelson, Nick Torborg, Mike Kirchen, Pete Stanton, Gary Nelson, Rich Jackson, Mohamed Abdullahi, Molly Fischer, Steve McCarty, John Delmonico and Richard Zimmerman.
A final line at the bottom of the letter says the letter ‘represents our statement in whole.’
‘We will not be having an additional comment or allowing additional interviews. Thank you for giving us voice.’
Pictured is the open letter to the community signed by 14 officers who condemned former cop Derek Chauvin after the police-related slaying of George Floyd
The letter comes as protests against police brutality continue across the nation in the wake of the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black father-of-two, who was killed during an arrest.
Floyd was alleged to have passed a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes when Chauvin pressed down on Floyd’s neck with his knee for almost 9 minutes, causing his death.
Video of the incident taken by a bystander went viral and emboldened the Black Lives Matter movement in a national call for reforms.
The letter comes as protests against police brutality continue across the nation in the wake of the death of George Floyd (pictured), a 46-year-old black father-of-two, who was killed during an arrest on Memorial Day in Minneapolis
Floyd was alleged to have passed a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes when former cop Derek Chauvin pressed down on Floyd’s neck with his knee for almost 9 minutes, causing his death. Chauvin and Floyd are pictured in an image from footage taken of the slaying
Chauvin was arrested for Floyd’s death and charges were upgraded to include second degree murder last Wednesday, the same day that three other officers at the scene were arrested.
Since his arrest, Chauvin was swiftly off-loaded by his wife of ten years. The former Minneapolis pageant queen Kellie, 45, had filed for divorce the day before charges were brought.
Meanwhile two of the three officers who looked on as Floyd died placed all blame firmly on the 20-year-old veteran at their own first appearances last Thursday.
Chauvin was arrested for Floyd’s death and charges were upgraded to include second degree murder last Wednesday, the same day that three other officers at the scene were arrested
On Sunday nine members of the Minneapolis City Council announced they intend to defund and dismantle the city’s police department.
‘We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe,’ Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said.
With nine votes the city council would have a veto-proof supermajority of the council’s 13 members to dismantle the police force.
Responding to calls for reform during George Floyd protests, the city council has a veto-proof supermajority of the council’s 13 members to dismantle the police force. Protesters are pictured making their call for change on Saturday
Bender during an interview earlier this week defended the revolutionary move to disband the police force, saying Floyd’s death was a ‘wake-up call’ that the police are ‘not keeping every member of our community safe.’
‘What if, in the middle of the night, my home is broken into. Who do I call?’ CNN’s Alisyn Camerota asked on Monday.
‘Yes, I mean I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors, and myself, too, and I know that that comes from a place of privilege,’ Bender replied.
‘Because for those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done,’ she added.
Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender says the governing body is ‘committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis’. She is pictured during a broadcast interview where she defended the decision