MNA and Nurses Respond to the Killing of George Floyd by Police

[tnbutterfly - Mary]

We have all seen on the news the terrible scene that played out in the streets in Minnesota when George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black male, was arrested by the Minnesota Police for attempted forgery at a convenience store. The action was caught on video as George Floyd, handcuffed and pinned to the ground face down by an officer who pressed with his full weight with his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes. We watched and heard George Floyd crying out that he couldn't breathe. We heard him calling for "Mama". We watched as his body went limp with the officer still holding him down. This will be a scene I shall never forget.

The following are quotes from the Minnesota Nurses Association's response to this heinous crime.

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As nurses, we see the horrific effects of racism in our hospitals and community every day. We cannot remain silent as yet another black man has died at the hands of police...

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George Floyd's last words were "I can't breathe.” George Floyd died shortly after arriving at the hospital."

Nurses jump into action when they hear someone say "I can't breathe", instead of standing there watching them die. Their goal is to save lives, not kill people

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In the case of George Floyd, Minneapolis Police took no care or life-saving measures. Instead, they left him pinned down to the ground until paramedics arrived. Police ignored the pleas of George Floyd and he died.

Nurses care for all patients, regardless of their gender, race, religion or other status. We expect the same from the police. Unfortunately, nurses continue to see the devastating effects of systematic racism and oppression targeting people of color in our communities. We demand justice for George Floyd and a stop to the unnecessary death of black men at the hands of those who should protect them.

As a nurse, or as a compassionate human, how has this horrific event affected you? We have seen protests (some peaceful and some that have erupted into riots), vandalism, looting, and more. What is going on in your community? What actions can nurses take?

Let us stand together and let our voices be heard. Post your comments below.

[toomuchbaloney]

5 hours ago, maryellen12 said:

Change is needed and maybe by showing kindness to each other  could be a good place to start.

George Floyd was described as a kind man.  Gentle and polite. 

[maryellen12]

He

[maryellen12]

“I used to mess with him, I’d say, ‘Oh man, you ain’t nothing but a big old gentle giant,’ ” said Wallace White, who worked with Floyd at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, a homeless outreach center on the fringe of downtown Minneapolis. “I never knew George to be anything but a kindhearted man.” 

Rest in peace gentle George.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

Floyd beat a pregnant woman. He was no saint. Eventually he probably would have killed someone. Change first needs to start with the criminals in the community. 

 

[toomuchbaloney]

47 minutes ago, Workitinurfava said:

Floyd beat a pregnant woman. He was no saint. Eventually he probably would have killed someone. Change first needs to start with the criminals in the community. 

 

You "guess" that Floyd might have eventually killed someone while ignoring that Floyd is the fellow that was held down and asphyxiated by Chauvin and his police helpers. Your concern with what might have happened is noted while we also note that you are making excuses for the killer.  We all saw the video of the murder. You aren't skilled enough at gas lighting to change what we all know we saw. 

[gere7404, BSN, RN]

Dude overdosed and had a heart attack. The medical examiners showed there was no trauma to the neck or airway. You know who killed George Floyd? Combination of his own decisions to take drugs and fight, and the crowd on scene blocking efforts from ems to get there and requiring the police to maintain tighter scene control. We were shown one snippet of the ordeal disingenuously for a year which led to mass polarization, dozens more lives lost, and billions of dollars in damages. 

 

 

[macawake, MSN]

4 hours ago, Workitinurfava said:

He was no saint.

Regarding the use of force, it doesn’t matter whether he was or not. Restraint techniques used by law enforcement personnel while making an arrest/detaining someone aren’t, or shouldn’t be, used for punitive reasons. They are not moral judgments. They are used solely to gain control of a situation and to keep themselves and/or others safe. No more force than necessary to attain that goal should be applied. A knee applied for a prolonged period of time to a prone, handcuffed person’s neck is not a technique taught in any police force I’ve ever heard about. 

 

4 hours ago, Workitinurfava said:

Eventually he probably would have killed someone.

Police officers prophylactically killing people for something that you are speculating might happen in the future isn’t a thing. It’s neither legal nor moral. It’s actually one of the most dumb things I’ve read in quite some time. And that’s saying something considering this is the internet. 

[Daisy4RN]

Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, Mr Chauvin will never get one because of all the media and Dems rhetoric including the latest from Maxine Watters and even our own President Biden. We, as a society, need to stop assigning blame before the trial and hold those who continue to riot just as responsible as any rogue police (not all police!). When we have media and Democrats who continue to call riots "peaceful protests" and bail out violent criminals (Kamala Harris for one), tell rioters to get more aggressive while simultaneously defunding the police, and jurors being threatened/tapered with we can all see where this is going (if you are paying attention) and it isn't pretty. Our society is splitting at the seams, if not already ripped, and no one seems to care. 

[macawake, MSN]

2 hours ago, gere7404 said:

Dude overdosed and had a heart attack. The medical examiners showed there was no trauma to the neck or airway. You know who killed George Floyd? Combination of his own decisions to take drugs and fight, and the crowd on scene blocking efforts from ems to get there and requiring the police to maintain tighter scene control. We were shown one snippet of the ordeal disingenuously for a year which led to mass polarization, dozens more lives lost, and billions of dollars in damages. 

 

 

The situation was likely an excruciating ordeal for the person who died that day. I doubt that it was an ordeal for the officers. However, facing the consequences of their actions probably is an ordeal. But it’s one I think they’ve earned. In my opinion the way they handled that situation was extremely unprofessional. The fact that this is being tried in a court of law makes absolute sense to me. 

There’s no way you can be certain that it wasn’t the police officers actions that resulted in George Floyd’s death. I don’t know what the point of your cocksure attitude is here? The fact is, you don’t know.

 

[macawake, MSN]

59 minutes ago, Daisy4RN said:

Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, Mr Chauvin will never get one because of all the media and Dems rhetoric including the latest from Maxine Watters and even our own President Biden. We, as a society, need to stop assigning blame before the trial and hold those who continue to riot just as responsible as any rogue police (not all police!). When we have media and Democrats who continue to call riots "peaceful protests" and bail out violent criminals (Kamala Harris for one), tell rioters to get more aggressive while simultaneously defunding the police, and jurors being threatened/tapered with we can all see where this is going (if you are paying attention) and it isn't pretty. Our society is splitting at the seams, if not already ripped, and no one seems to care. 

Biden, Waters, the media, Democrats, rioters... You’re throwing in everything including the kitchen sink, aren’t you? To me that’s just deflection. The trial is about the death of a man who was detained by police, as far as I understand it after being placed under arrest on the suspicion of having used a counterfit bill to play for goods bought in a store? It’s not about rioters or the President.

You said that everyone is entitled to a fair trial. You’re correct. George Floyd was also entitled to a fair trial following his arrest. That will never happen. 
 

 

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

I don't think Chavin will be found guilty. because Floyd took drugs before this incident occurred.

[macawake, MSN]

15 minutes ago, Workitinurfava said:

I don't think Chavin will be found guilty. because Floyd took drugs before this incident occurred.

Was that day the very first time in his entire life that he had used drugs? Because if he’d used drugs previously he obviously survived those occasions. Can you identify anything out of the ordinary that happened to him on his last day that hadn’t happened on the other occasions?

Here’s another scenario. What if I shoot someone in the head or whack them really hard with a two-by-four and the person dies. Will I automatically be acquitted simply because my unfortunate hypothetical victim was found to have done drugs? 

He may be acquitted and he may be found guilty. We’ll have to wait and see. I have no idea why several posters are sounding so convinced that they have a definite answer. Unless you’re just attempting to provoke other posters?