Twitter users claim uneven treatment for Manfredonia, Floyd

NEWTOWN — The six-day manhunt through four states to capture homicide suspect Peter Manfredonia in Maryland had nothing to do with the routine arrest two days earlier of George Floyd on a counterfeit bill charge 1,000 miles away in Minnesota.

But commentators on Twitter say the two stories directly parallel the racial double-standard in America that has provoked a week of protests and civil disobedience here and across the country.

Manfredonia, a white 23-year-old Sandy Hook native, is awaiting extradition to Connecticut after being taken into custody without a fight on May 27. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died handcuffed on the ground with his neck pinned beneath an arresting officer’s knee on May 25.

Some pointed to a statement by Connecticut State Police Lt. Michael Pendleton, who said “absolutely no force was used to effect the arrest,” of Manfredonia, who had a gun in a black bag 200 yards away.

“Notice how the police talk to Peter Manfredonia, a white college senior who was at large after (allegedly) killing two people and (allegedly) stealing guns. Being treated with respect and due process, even if you commit a crime, shouldn't be a privilege,” wrote Twitter user Max Lipton.

Twitter user Dr. LezAnne Edmond agreed.

“And alleged murderer Peter Manfredonia was surrounded by heavily armed officers was gently arrested his f— shirt wasn't even disturbed!,” she wrote.

Although Manfredonia is yet to be charged with anything other than being a fugitive from justice in the slayings of 62-year old Theodore DeMers and 23-year-old fellow Newtown High School graduate Nicholas Eisele, the arresting officer in Floyd’s case has been arrested and charged with murder.

By Monday afternoon, there were nearly 100 separate posts on Twitter calling Manfredonia and Floyd’s disparate treatment the latest case study of a double-standard in the criminal justice system that treats white suspects with restraint and black suspects with contempt.

“Absolutely, this is what we have been talking about for years and years,” said Glenda Armstrong, president of the Greater Danbury NAACP. “The double-standard will continue to happen unless people are made aware of it and unless people say to themselves, ‘We need to get better at this.’”