U.S. ‘wakeup call’
3 more cops to face raps, vic’s kin told
Joe Biden Tuesday backed the mass protests sweeping the nation over the police killing of George Floyd and blasted President Trump for “fanning the flames of hate.”
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee paid tribute to Floyd and the calls for justice that have brought hundreds of thousands of Americans into the street to protest.
“I can’t breathe. George Floyd’s last words. But they didn’t die with him,” Biden said inside Philadelphia City Hall. “They’re still being heard. They’re echoing across this nation.”
Biden, who plans to attend Floyd’s funeral next Tuesday in Houston, called the massive demonstrations a “wakeup call for our nation” in a rare public appearance amid the pandemic.
“They speak to a nation where too often just the color of your skin puts your life at risk,” he said. “They speak to a nation where more than 100,000 people have lost their lives to a virus and 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment.”
Philadelphia has been the scene of large protests and clashes with police, including in Center City, just blocks from where Biden spoke.
The former vice president slammed President Trump for his erratic leadership during the pandemic and the protests, including his shocking decision to order protesters cleared from a Washington park so he could hold a photo op at a church.
“The president is more interested in power than in principle,” Biden said. “This president is part of the problem.”
Biden compared Trump to racist segregationists like infamous Police Chief Bull Connor, who set dogs on civil rights protesters in Birmingham, Ala.
Laying out demands for reform, Biden vowed to unite Americans instead of dividing like Trump.
“I won’t traffic in hate, I
George Floyd’s family has been told the three other officers who were at the scene of his horrific May 25 homicide will be charged criminally, family lawyer Benjamin Crump said Tuesday.
“We heard that they expect to charge those officers,” Crump told NBC “Today” host Hoda Kotb.
“So you heard that those officers are in fact going to be charged soon?” Kotb asked.
“Yes,” Crump replied. “We understand they will be charged. That is what the family is hearing from the authorities, and he died on the scene, Hoda. That’s important to note.”
The other two cops who pinned Floyd (inset) down during his arrest besides Derek Chauvin were Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane. Officer Tou Thao watched. All four were fired.
Chauvin was charged Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he was caught on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes as the black handcuffed man became unresponsive.
Crump said the autopsy commissioned by Floyd’s family proves two officers who had their knees pressed on Floyd’s back compressed his lungs in a way that contributed to the death. He added that police accountability and reform will be critical to moving forward.
“These protests and these riots that are erupting across cities in America are not started by the protesters. It was started by police brutality and a racist criminal justice system,” he said.
“The only way to put out these fires is to have police accountability and equal justice,” he said. “We don’t want two justice systems in America — one for black America and one for white America. We need equal justice for the United States of America, and that will heal our country. That will make our children believe that they are part of the American Dream.”