Senate Must Stop Inhumanity of Police Brutality

Floor Speech

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise, in the spirit of Shirley Chisholm. I rise unbought and unbossed, a liberated Democrat.

And I rise today, Mr. Speaker, with a great deal of pain in my heart. I am saddened. And I am, quite frankly, very, very disgusted and disappointed.

I saw a news story this morning that brought me to tears. I could not believe what I saw and I heard. I would like to share now some passages from a story in The New York Times that relate to what I saw this morning, what I heard this morning. I would ask that persons who are very sensitive to things involving pain and suffering be mindful of what I am about to do and might govern themselves appropriately because this is very painful to hear and very sad to understand that it actually occurred.

This story is styled ``Footage Shows Louisiana Troopers Punching and Dragging Man Who Died.''

I was born in Louisiana, in New Orleans. I have friends there. I have some sense of what the State is like, but even this exceeds some of what I know can happen in Louisiana.

This article goes on to read: ``Relatives of Ronald Greene,'' no relationship as far as I know, ``were initially told that he had died from injuries he sustained in a crash after he failed to stop for a traffic violation outside Monroe, Louisiana, in May 2019, according to a lawyer for the family.''

May 2019. You can do the math. That was some time ago. Some of us would say it was a long time ago.

``Body-camera footage obtained and published by the Associated Press on Wednesday showed Mr. Greene, 49, screaming, `I'm sorry,' and `I'm scared,' after troopers opened the door to his car and jolted him with a stun gun after a high-speed chase.''

I recall instructions from my mother. Her instructions when I was a young child were to never run from the police. Never run from the police. She was emphatic about it, and she explained why. Never run from the police, she explained to me, her young son, because the police will catch you and when they do, they are going to whip you. She explained to me that the police are of the opinion that if you run, a part of your punishment is a good whipping. This is what my mother explained to me as a child. So, we find today Mr. Greene saying, ``I'm sorry,'' and, ``I'm scared.''

`` `I'm scared,' Mr. Greene screamed, according to the video.'' He went on to say, `` `I'm your brother. I'm scared,' '' pleading, if you will. The ``pleading'' is what I am adding. That is not in the story, but pleading.

``According to the AP, which said it had obtained 46 minutes of video footage from the encounter, one trooper wrestled Mr. Greene to the ground, put him in a choke hold,'' some things bear repeating, ``put him in a choke hold and punched him in the face. Another trooper briefly dragged him by his ankle shackles as he lay on the ground, according to the footage.''

We know about choke holds. We know about knees on necks. We know that people are not always treated with respect.

Mind you, Mr. Greene, so far, has not exhibited a weapon. Yes, he was running, in the sense that he was driving away from the police. Yes, he should have stopped by standards that we like to employ. But does running from the police, driving your car away from the police, does this entitle the police to kick, tase multiple times, and drag a person?

``Mr. Greene was jolted again with the stun gun while he was on the ground and handcuffed.'' On the ground, handcuffed, and jolted again with a stun gun. This is what the footage shows, according to this news article.

``The AP reported that the troopers, who were White,'' again, some things bear repeating, ``AP reported that the troopers, who were White, left Mr. Greene, who was Black, facedown and moaning for more than 9 minutes, as they wiped blood from their hands and face.''

Mr. Greene is facedown, pleading, 9 minutes. The officers are wiping blood from their hands and face.

`` `I hope this guy ain't got AIDS,' one of the troopers said on the video, adding an expletive.''

He was concerned for himself at a time when a man is bleeding and in need of attention, medical attention, I might add. Officers have a duty to provide medical attention. When we are in combat with enemies, enemies who would destroy us, destroy our country, if we catch an enemy and that enemy is hurt, in need of medical attention, we provide aid and comfort.

Mr. Greene was not an enemy to the United States of America. He wasn't an enemy of this country. Mr. Greene wasn't trying to kill these officers.

Yes, he resisted. But does resistance afford or grant the officers the legal right to abuse him to the extent that he finds himself on the ground bleeding; they find themselves wiping blood from their hands and their face, and then concluding, ``I hope this guy ain't got AIDS''?

There are people who don't want to hear the things that I have to say about invidious discrimination. They don't want to hear it because they don't want to acknowledge that it exists. Not only does it exist, it exists more than we know.

But for the body cameras, this wouldn't be in The New York Times. It is in The New York Times because there is now evidence, clear and convincing evidence, that it actually occurred. But there are people who don't want to hear a Member come to the floor of the House of Representatives and call these things to the attention of the world.

We call them to the attention of the world, because the world needs to know we have been right for years upon years, decades on decades, in making known these issues that have been ignored.

Now the truth is being revealed. George Floyd, the truth was revealed. Ronald Greene, the truth has been revealed.

Let's go on. This story indicates that: ``The Louisiana State Police said on Wednesday''--mind you, this is Wednesday in May of 2019--``The Louisiana State Police said on Wednesday that the investigation into Mr. Greene's death `remains under review by Federal and State authorities.'''

My dear friends, my dear brothers, and my dear sisters, if an animal--let's say a dog--if they had treated a dog the way they treated Mr. Greene, a human being, the investigation would be over, the punishment would have been assessed, and I would dare say that they would have received punishment much more severe than what I am about to read to you.

The article states: ``One of the troopers, who was involved in the encounter . . . was temporarily suspended and is back on the force.''

Some things bear repeating.

``One of the troopers who was involved in the encounter . . . was temporarily suspended and is back on the force.'' This is what the State police said.

I am not sure that the humane society would have allowed this to go without some additional repercussions, lawful repercussions, I might add, if an animal, a dog, were treated the way Mr. Greene was treated.

Remember, Mr. Greene was pleading: ``I'm your brother. I'm scared.'' Begging, ``I'm sorry,'' he said.

Dear friends, Mr. Greene's death was ruled accidental and was attributed to cardiac arrest. How can we allow this to stand?

The family commissioned an independent autopsy that found severe injuries to Mr. Greene's head and skull and several wounds to his face. But the officers concluded his death was accidental. This is my commentary now. His death was accidental and was attributed to cardiac arrest.

In the world that I live in, this is called a coverup. In the world that I live in, this video is the evidence needed, coupled with the time that has elapsed, to substantiate the coverup.

There may be more evidence. There may be more evidence that would be of benefit. But my dear friends, for a human being to be treated as Mr. Greene was treated and then have one person temporarily suspended-- there may be other things that have occurred. This is a news story. All of the facts may not be in. One person suspended, and it reported that his death was ruled accidental, attributed to cardiac arrest.

We must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. What more do we need? We have George Floyd, his death. We have now Mr. Greene. These incidents--as they are called by people who live in polite society-- these incidents continue to occur. What more do we need to pass legislation in the Senate of the United States of America, where we have people who have taken an oath to protect? What do we need to pass the legislation that will ban chokeholds? This man was choked.

What do we need to pass legislation so that lawsuits can continue, so that they won't be dismissed on grounds that are archaic? It may not be insane, but it is an inanity. What do we need to end this inanity? What is going on in the Senate, the Senate of the United States of America, land of ``liberty and justice''--I say the Pledge of Allegiance--``for all.'' I say the Pledge of Allegiance. I love my country, but I don't love what is happening in the United States Senate.

It is time for this piece of legislation to receive its day. It ought to be voted on, immediately, if not sooner. What is going on in the United States Senate? How can we tolerate this level of inhumanity? What is going on in the United States Senate?

At some point, on the infinite continuum that we call time, we are all going to have to account for our time. And on that day of judgment, it won't be based upon how many millionaires did you try to help because you were a Member of Congress and you had the opportunity to pass laws to benefit millionaires and billionaires. That won't be what your judgment is based on. It won't be based on how many full bellies did you try to feed. At some point, we are going to have to account for our actions. At some point, judgment is going to be how did you treat the least, the last, and the lost among us.

Judgment is not going to be how did you treat the well-off, the well- heeled, and the well-to-do. They always fare well. The judgment is going to be how did you treat the Greene's of the world, how did you treat the Floyds of the world.

Senators, I beg you, do not allow rules that benefit the lawlessness that is taking place to prevent you from doing the righteous thing. You have an opportunity to move on this legislation. I beg that you would do so.

I am but one person. I am sure that there are others who would agree with some of what I have said. But I come to the floor to say this, because I want my record to show that when I had a chance to stand up against injustice, I did so.

I am saddened by what happened to Mr. Greene, to Mr. Floyd, to Ms. Breonna Taylor, and to many others whose names that you don't know: Joe Campos Torres, thrown in a bayou in Houston, Texas, handcuffed; Billy Keith Joyvies; Randall Alan Webster, chased down the Freeway, shot; Ida Lee Delaney, shot out on the freeway in Houston. There are many names that you don't know. But if you do the research, you will find that in each one of those cases, there were concerns related to the way the police handled them.

So I have done what I can do today. But if God gives me the strength, I will be back again and again and again and again. I want my record to show I gave it my best, I tried, and I will continue to try.

At this time, I have a colleague who desires time. I am going to yield to him as much time as he may consume of the time that I have left.

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. I thank the gentleman for his sage recitation. I did listen, and I am grateful that the gentleman has seen the need to be a friend to persons who are clearly in harm's way.

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