National Urban League CEO reacts to George Floyd protests: Other 3 officers should’ve been arrested
The CEO and president of the National Urban League Marc Morial joins ‘America’s News HQ.’
National Urban League CEO and president Marc Morial joined "America’s News HQ" and addressed George Floyd's death, saying the other three officers involved in his death who have not been charged should be arrested.
"I believe the other three officers should have been arrested. They should be detained, and it's not explicable to me as to why there have been no charges nor an arrest with respect to those three officers," Morial said Sunday.
A viral video posted last week sparked nationwide demonstrations, showing Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes during his arrest on suspicion of passing a counterfeit bill. Floyd died in custody and Chauvin was fired Tuesday and arrested Friday on charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers who took part in the arrest also were fired, and they remained under investigation.
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Morial said the focus should continue to be justice for Floyd.
"I believe that we cannot allow anything that's happened to take the focus off of the need for there to be justice for the memory of Mr. Floyd and actual justice with respect to the perpetrators of this heinous, awful act of violence that took this man's life," Morial said.
The CEO added that "systemic" changes could help give confidence in Floyd's case and future police-conduct issues.
"A governor like [Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz] could appoint a special prosecutor and create a special investigatory unit that takes the investigation and prosecution of police misconduct, particularly the killings of individuals by the police out of the hands of local DAs so that there's some integrity and some confidence in the process," Morial said. "At the national level, there is a need for reform in the law that's used by federal prosecutors. The standard is an old standard. It's a difficult standard to meet, and I think it should be reformed."
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"Good people can be part of a rotten system and when we say that there's systemic racism, when there needs to be systemic reform, it is not a condemnation of the people who may participate in the system writ large," Morial added. "It's a recognition that the changes we need are systemic, which means changes in law, changes in policy with respect to policing, with respect to the accountability of police officers. And, now is the time where people all across the political spectrum to join in this kind of reform."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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