This article was written by a dear friend of mine. This article brought tears to my eyes and knots to my stomach because the subject matter is so heart wrenching. The only solace that I gain is the fact that one day, Jesus is going to return and relieve the believers of all the injustice in the world. His return will be soon. Be ready.
The Injustice Against George Floyd
Posted onĀ Ā byĀ Samuel Sey
There are four images from the George Floyd video I canāt unsee. I canāt unsee the police officerās apathetic face while a man was dying beneath him. I canāt unsee George Floydās distressed face while he was being killed by a man over him.
I canāt unsee the police officerās knee on George Floydās neck even after Floyd laid voiceless and lifeless on the ground. And I canāt unsee the police officerās hands in his pockets the entire time.
Itās distressing to watch a man die. And itās devastating to watch a man die by the callous handsāor kneeāby person who was supposed to serve and protect him.
And that is partly why thousands of people have been protesting and rioting over the last two nights in Minneapolis.
Three days ago in Minneapolis, four police officers responded to a 911 call about a fraud in process. The suspect, George Floyd, was apparently intoxicated while he attempted to purchase a meal at a local deli with a counterfeit $20 bill.
When police officers arrived on the scene, Floyd was apparently inside his car. And according to Minneapolis Police, Floyd physically resisted the police officers before they placed him in handcuffs, and they also claim they called for an ambulance after they noticed Floyd appeared to be suffering medical distress.
That could be true. Itās not impossible to believe that perhaps Floyd physically resisted arrest. Itās not impossible to believe that perhaps Floyd was suffering from medical distress. However, video recordings do not reveal Floyd physically resisted arrest, nor do they show he was suffering from medical distress other than the distress inflicted on him by the police officers.
We do not have access to every detail between the time police officers arrived on the scene and the time when the paramedics arrived on scene. The video recordings especially do not show what happened between Floyd and the police officers right before three police officers pinned Floyd facedown to the ground, including one police officer, whose knee pressed on Floydās neck for at least seven minutes while Floyd begged:
āIām about to dieā¦Please, the knee in my neck, I canāt breatheā¦Mama!ā¦My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurtsā¦Donāt kill me.ā
Bystanders also begged the police officer to stop. They refused. The bystanders also warned the police officers their actions might kill Floyd. But the police officers didnāt relentāeven after Floyd became voiceless and lifeless.
The next day, Minneapolisā police chief fired the four police officers involved in the incident. And the scene of the incident has become the centre for protests and riots in Minneapolis over the last two nights.
What makes George Floydās killing especially disturbing to me, is that unlike most recordings of people who get unjustly killed by police officers, Floydās distressed face and distressed words are so clearly seen and so clearly heard before he dies.
As I suggested earlier, we do not have access to everything that happened on the scene. Nevertheless, given much of the footage and information available, itās difficult to imagine any justification for the police officersā actions. That is, after all, why Minneapolisā police chief fired the four police officers.
And Iām glad Minneapolisā Police Department asked the FBI and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate the incidentāan investigation that will surely lead to charges against one of or all the police officers involved.
However, we should remember God gives us freedom to grieveāhe gives us freedom to be angry. But he doesnāt give us freedom to sin while we are grieving and while we are angry.
Just as George Floydās apparent unjust attempt to defraud the deli doesnāt justify the police officersā unjust actions against him, the police officersā sins do not justify our sins either. We will all be accountable to God for our unjust and sinful actions.
Some citizens in Minneapolis are using the injustice against George Floyd as justification for their own unjust, destructive actions. They are using Floydās killing to sināthey are rioting, stealing, assaulting others, and destroying property. We shouldnāt be like them. We shouldnāt react with unjust, destructive behaviour on social media either. If weāre angry by the police officersā unrighteous behaviour, we shouldnāt react in an unrighteous manner too.
Therefore, we shouldnāt make any conclusions about the incidentāincluding the police officerās motivations and George Floydās characterā if it isnāt explicit in the video recordings.
Those of us who reject social justice ideology might be tempted to allow the opportunism and foolishness of others to cloud our own judgment. But we shouldnāt allow those who cry wolf to make us deaf to real, genuine growls of wolves.
And youāve probably noticed I havenāt mentioned the police officersā skin colour and especially, Floydās skin colour. I havenāt mentioned George Floyd was a black man. I havenāt mentioned the police officers consisted of one Asian and three white men. I havenāt mentioned that Derek Chauvin, the officer who pressed his knee on Floydās neck, is a white man.
I didnāt mention that because when I watched the horrific video, I didnāt see a black manājust like meāunjustly killed by white police officers. I simply saw a humanājust like meāunjustly killed by police officers.
That doesnāt mean George Floyd wasnāt a victim of racism. Maybe he was, maybe he wasnāt. I donāt know. All I know is: four people like me apparently unjustly killed another person like me.
I look forward to the day when I wonāt have to see this anymore. And I especially I look forward to the day when Jesus wonāt have to see this anymoreāwhen he returns to execute perfect justice.