Today, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks released the following statement regarding the death of George Floyd, calling for charges to be brought against all officers involved:
“Once more we grieve with hurt and outrage as we watched yet another black man plead that he cannot breathe. Once more we see captured on camera the unwarranted force that men and women of color routinely suffer under the heel or knee of unrestrained law enforcement.
“George Floyd’s death tears at generations of deep wounds for African Americans, and we are tired of waiting for a world where a person of color is not perceived as suspicious for taking jog through his neighborhood, or birdwatching in a park. We are tired of awaiting a world where wearing a hoodie or being pulled over for a traffic stop does not invite undue fear for one’s life. We are exhausted of having to coach our children on how to navigate a culture of racism that puts them in danger for no reason other than the color of their skin.
“It is that culture that must be rooted out, and no longer permitted by the ‘appalling silence of good men.’ The officers who stood by as their colleague killed Mr. Floyd may not have had their knee on his neck, but their lack of intervention makes them just as complicit in his death.
“Nothing will change without real consequences commensurate with the crimes committed by those who abuse their authority. Nothing will change unless we as a community push for America to reckon with its original and long enduring sin. 'The arc of history is long but it bends towards justice' is only true if we as a nation work together to bend it.”