Protests erupted in Minneapolis, Minnesota this week — though they sadly descended into looting and rioting — over the killing of an unarmed black man by a white police officer in an event that has garnered international attention.
The horrifying incident was caught on cell phone video by a passerby, and the footage has sparked outraged cries for swift and comprehensive justice, which have now been echoed by President Donald Trump himself, Fox News reported.
Trump orders expedited probe
Wednesday evening, as protesters clashed in the streets with police, but before everything spiraled into fiery chaos, President Trump took to Twitter to announce that he had ordered both the Department of Justice and FBI to conduct a thorough yet expedited investigation of the “tragic” death of 46-year-old George Floyd so that, eventually, “Justice will be served.”
Trump tweeted, “At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd …”
“… I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served!” the president added.
“Very sad event”
NBC News reported that President Trump first addressed the terrible killing of Floyd earlier in the day while he was in Florida for the highly anticipated launch of a SpaceX rocket carrying a pair of American NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, which was unfortunately aborted prior to take-off due to weather conditions.
Asked by an NBC reporter about Floyd’s death, Trump replied, “I’m very sad about that. Very, very sad event.”
As for whether the officers involved in the killing of Floyd should be prosecuted, the president said, “We’re going to look at it, and we’re going to get a report tomorrow when we get back, and we’re going to get a very full report. But a very sad day.”
NBC noted that Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo had already put in a request with the DOJ and FBI for assistance in the investigation of Floyd’s death as, based on video made public thus far, there is a strong suggestion that Floyd’s federally-protected civil rights were fatally violated by the arresting officers.
Officers fired, investigation continues
Floyd was reportedly arrested on suspicion of attempting to pass counterfeit money. Notably, zero evidence has emerged — either from the cell phone video or from store surveillance camera footage — that Floyd ever resisted the arrest or acted in a manner that would have justified the deadly measures used by police to subdue him on the street.
Thankfully, the four Minneapolis Police Deparment officers involved in the incident have already been fired, as CBS News reports, but more must be done to address this grievous wrong.
Hopefully, justice in this case will be swift and certain.
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