All Officers Involved in George Floyd’s Death ‘Complicit,’ Police Chief Says

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneels on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed man who was pleading that he could not breathe, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 25, 2020. Darnella Frazier via AP

All four police officers on the scene when George Floyd was arrested are “complicit” in Floyd’s death, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said.

“Being silent or not intervening, to me, you’re complicit,” Arradondo told reporters Sunday.

“So I don’t see a level of distinction any different,” he added.

The charging decisions are up to the county attorney’s office but Arradondo said his decision on May 26 to fire the officers stemmed from Floyd dying “in our hands.”

He said he would have hoped one of the officers intervened and changed the situation.

Medaria Arradondo, then-Minneapolis deputy chief of police, in a file photo. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Arradondo, who has not appeared at press conferences in recent days, was speaking to a handful of reporters and a slew of protesters at the location where Floyd was arrested on Memorial Day.

The question that provoked the response was passed along by a CNN reporter from Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd.

The brother alleged that if there was enough evidence to fire the officers, then the evidence would be strong enough to arrest them.

Derek Chauvin, the officer recorded kneeling on George Floyd’s neck shortly before Floyd died, was arrested last week on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Chauvin was transferred to a maximum security prison, where he'll be held in a segregated area to make sure he stays safe, a Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

Chauvin and Floyd worked together at the same bar.

Protesters hold signs outside the Minneapolis Police 5th Precinct during the fourth night of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Three other officers involved in the arrest were named as Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane.

“They’re at home right now sleeping in their bed, relaxing,” Philonise Floyd said late Sunday. “[Chauvin’s] in jail, he’s only one. The other three need to be in there. My brother—he’s in the morgue. That’s not right. I want justice now. He deserves that. He’s a gentle giant.”

Officials haven’t disclosed whether they’re considering charging the other three officers.

An attorney for Thao told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that the former cop has left Minneapolis for his safety. Lane also left the city, a relative said. Kueng is reportedly staying with family in the city.

The remarks came as Terrence Floyd, George Floyd’s younger brother, criticized violent protesters, admonishing them for turning to mayhem when Floyd’s family is refraining from doing so.

“If you’re angry, it’s OK to be angry, but channel your anger to do something positive or make a change another way because we’ve been down this road already,” the brother said.

“He would want us to seek justice the way we are, the way we’re trying to do, but channel it another way. The anger, damaging your hometown is not the way he’d want.”