Green Party National Co-Chair Trahern Crews Part of Community Response in Minneapolis

On Tuesday, May 25th Officer Derek Chauvin forced his knee on the neck of George Floyd for eight grueling, life-taking minutes until he died — as Officer Tou Thao looked on. Community members were present and recorded the horrific, traumatizing incident that has sparked protest and anger in the Black community across America.

National Black Caucus of the Green Party of the United States 
https://www.gp.org/caucuses#black

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Contact:
Trahern Crews, Green Party National Black Caucus and Green Party of Minnesota, [email protected]
763-260-4233
Robin Harris, GP National Black Caucus Co-Chair, [email protected]
Green Party Media, [email protected], 202-804-2758

The resident who recorded the event can be repeatedly heard telling the officers to stop — even as Mr. Floyd, himself, can be heard exclaiming that he could not breathe — because they knew they were killing him.

Darnella Wade, Co-Chair of the Green Party of the 4th CD (MN) said, “these officers need to be held accountable. This video shows the lack of humanity for Black Lives in the criminal justice system in the state of Minnesota and shows why all police officers in the State of Minnesota should be required to carry personal professional liability insurance for their position.” 

Under such a policy, Officer Chauvin’s history of police misconduct and settlements would have disqualified him from insurance coverage, he would not have been employed by Minneapolis Police as an officer and so would not have been able to kill George Floyd for no reason at all and to the horror of an entire nation.

The officers were fired the following day. That is a first in the state of Minnesota, which has become ground zero for the fight in police accountability in recent years. The family of Mr Floyd, activists, organizations and community members have wanted more accountability and want charges to be filed against the cops who murdered George Floyd.

Toya Woodland, Minneapolis Green Party-endorsed candidate for congress in the 5th congressional district said, “we need Community Control of the Police. We should decide which cops get hired and fired in our community. This is why the FBI was called: because our local government is not equipped to protect the lives of Black residents from white supremacy and institutional racism”. 

Protestors and family members gathered at the corner of 38th and Chicago to hold a vigil and protest that included nearly 20,000 people. Trahern Crews, Co-Chair of the Green Party of the United States and an organizer with Black Lives Matter Minnesota, declared, “George Floyd was a father, brother, uncle, and loved community member who was unjustly taken from us by a racist criminal injustice system. We are calling on all activists, community members and lawmakers to put pressure on the city of Minneapolis to hold these officers accountable and begin changing the culture of the Minneapolis Police Department”. 

The National Black Caucus (NBC) of the Green Party of the United States has found “that these incidents are part of a larger, systemic problem stemming from the legacy of slavery and the devaluing of Black and Brown people and communities. It is time for a moratorium on police brutality in the name of public service,” stated Darryl! LC Moch, Co-Chair of the NBC and Chair of the DC Statehood Green Party. “Furthermore,” said Robin Harris, Co-Chair of the NBC and Co-Chair of the Florida Green Party, “we must build strong coalitions, advocacy groups, and elect legislators who will prioritize ending the brutal lynchings and killing of Black and Brown bodies at the hands of the government at all levels. We must hold governments and police departments accountable.”

MORE INFORMATION

Trahern Crews quoted in The Daily Beast:
“Derek Chauvin, Minneapolis Cop Shown Kneeling on George Floyd’s Neck, Hires Philando Castile Shooter’s Lawyer”

Green Party national platform on criminal justice and ending police brutality

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Newsroom | Twitter: @GreenPartyUS
Green Party Platform
Green New Deal
Green candidate database and campaign information
Facebook page
YouTube
Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States
Green Papers

~ END ~