Letter to the Hon. Erica H. MacDonald, US Attorney and Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney - Omar, Klobuchar, Smith, McCollum Call for Accountability for George Floyd's Death

Letter

Dear Ms. MacDonald and Mr. Freeman:
We write to express our outrage over the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis
Police Department on the night of May 25, 2020, and to request that federal, state, and local
authorities undertake a thorough investigation into the events that led to this tragedy. While we
understand that the facts are still coming to light, and that state and local authorities are
reviewing the case, we believe that the seriousness of the incident requires additional
independent oversight by law enforcement at all levels. We urge you to ensure that all evidence
is quickly secured, including all video footage, and to aggressively pursue justice.
According to reports, George Floyd, who police suspected of committing forgery, was unarmed
while he was handcuffed and appeared to be experiencing medical distress.1 Video evidence
from the incident shows an officer kneeling on Mr. Floyd¶s neck as he pleaded for his life. At
one point, Floyd can be heard telling police, "I can¶t breathe.´ The video continues to show
Floyd stating, "my stomach hurt, my neck hurt, everything hurts.´ Shortly after, Floyd appears to
lose consciousness while on the ground. A bystander is heard asking police to check Floyd¶s
pulse, but the officer did not remove his knee from Floyd¶s neck until the ambulance arrived.
Eyewitnesses state that Floyd then appeared motionless before he was put on a stretcher and into
an ambulance. After being transported by ambulance, he was announced dead at Hennepin
County Medical Center, according to police.
2
Mr. Floyd¶s death appears to be yet another horrifying instance of excessive force leading to the
death of African Americans across this country. In addition to the obvious state laws that will
govern this case, federal law makes it a crime for a state or local police officer to willfully violate a person¶s constitutional rights, which includes the use of excessive force.3 We also ask
that you consider the arresting officer¶s past involvement in any other alleged incidents of
misconduct.
We urge you to conduct a thorough investigation at the federal, state, and local level into what
occurred and hold all those involved in this incident accountable.