Which justifies subduing him, but not having Chauvin’s knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, with plenty of observers saying he was killing Floyd and Floyd telling him so as well.
Well said!
It shows us the media was lying about the circumstances of his death and the videos we were shown were deceptively edited.
Like Trayvon the “innocent child” when he was actually a gangbanger with a gun and a gold grill.
Agreed. That’s what officer backup, tasers, hand cuffs, and plastic leg restraints are for. Choke hold to the point of death amounts to at least manslaughter. “Resisting” by pointing a gun or pulling a knife puts things in a different realm. Unarmed and almost nine minutes on the ground was plenty of time for the other cops to intervene. And since that crew was composed of a multi-racial assortment of officers it took encouragement by the media and the party which runs that city and hired the cops involved to make it a black/white deal and cause of $billions destruction.
It is easy to Monday morning quarterback.
Obviously, Floyd had to be subdued.
Obviously, the neck restraint was an approved method, by the MPD.
Not so obviously, there have been numerous reports Floyd complained he could not breath long before the neck restraint was applied.
Was the neck restraint kept on for too long?
Yes, because it was bad optics
Did the neck restraint cause his death.
Probably not.
Was it a contributing factor? Maybe.
Going back to Rodney King, the public looks at a few minutes or seconds of graphic video, and decides that's all that's needed to form an opinion. "Hey, it's all right there on tape."
Here's the problem with that: there is always context that the first, incendiary footage doesn't show that is directly relevant to the use of force. The media narrative ALWAYS omits the preceding events -- in the Rodney King case, a half hour long car chase, King's aggression and assaultive behavior before the on-scene LAPD sergeant assumed command over the female CHP officer, etc. etc. etc. Which is why the first jury absolved the officers.
In the present case, the evidence is still trickling out, and one big question everyone should be asking is "where's the body cam footage?" Do you think that it's being withheld because it makes the officers look worse? Or maybe it adds context that makes things look a little less callous.
So, unless you think it's perfectly fine for someone to be under the influence of narcotics and meth, in public, trying to start a car and drive away, you'll want someone to detain that individual and either take him to jail, or as in this case, the jail ward in a hospital.
But if that individual decides to resist, you have two choices, as far as I can see. Walk away, and say "Sorry, we asked him, but he didn't want to come", or use force. And once it comes to force, things can get unpredictable. It's not some precisely calibrated thing that can be instantly turned on and then off, undesirable things can, and will happen.
It looks to me that not one of those officers was in an agitated state, and they tried to use the minimum amount of force to effect the arrest. There were no blows, no baton strikes, and they all appeared to be following their policy manual, which allowed the scary-looking neck hold. And the autopsy says there wasn't even a bruise on Floyd, and he didn't die of asphyxia.
I don't know what the rest of the evidence will show, but these snippets of tape are not enough for anyone with a fair mind to draw a final conclusion.
I can also assure you that every police officer in the country is pondering this case, and the media and public reaction. There's a case to be made that all of these officers followed their policy manual, and the law as it stood on that day, but now everyone in the country is howling for their blood. Even so-called conservatives, all based on a few snippets of video on social media. They all now know that no one has their back, or will even give them a fair hearing. What I keep hearing, usually from the best ones, is "there's got to be a different way I can make a living."
I don't think you'll enjoy living in a country with Antifa and BLM stepping in when the current, real police decide to find other employment.