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.

Quote

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...

Quote

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

Quote

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.

[NurseBlaq]

23 hours ago, MunoRN said:

No, that's not what happened, there are at least two videos of the incident. I would agree that "stabbed at" is more accurate than "stabbed" since in multiple attempts she failed land a penetrating blow.

But she wasn't shot while just standing there holding a knife she found on the ground, or simply defending her self, she stated "I'm going to stab the *** out of you ***" while chasing and attempting to stab the first woman, then turned to another woman and was again attempting to stab her when she was shot.

There absolutely are a disturbing number of incidents where officers have killed people of color where there was clearly no justification for lethal force.  This was clearly not one of those situations.  Misrepresenting or distorting what actually happened to pad the list only weakens the argument that this is actually a problem.

 

How would you know if he shot her soon as he got on the scene? She didn't state any of that. You're just making up a whole scenario. She called the police because they were jumping her. Some of y'all look for any reason to validate Black folks being murdered. It's simply pathetic at this point. Furthermore, YOU are the one distorting things because I only responded because you claimed she was going around stabbing people. She literally had just picked the knife up and you conveniently missed the part where she was running from someone and they shoved her to the ground immediately before she got up and picked up the knife but go off though. ?

[NurseBlaq]

5 hours ago, Workitinurfava said:

Defunding the police is a bad idea. 

Ah, the Chicago argument. This is literally the go-to excuse for racists when in any discussion about Black people being murdered by cops. The next one will be the fictitious graph or some BS about Black on Black crime. Then the stereotypes. This script is old, stale, and tired. Get new material.

[NurseBlaq]

22 hours ago, MunoRN said:

And there certainly are incidents where police fail to utilize non-lethal intervention or de-escalation even though it would appear appropriate, this wasn't one of those situations.

Had she simply been holding and/or threatening to use a deadly weapon then I might agree, but she was actively attacking people with a deadly weapon, not just threatening to do that, trying to de-escalate with reasoned discussion or even a taser is no longer appropriate at that point.

Again, there are videos of people literally shooting, stabbing, running over with cars, and beating the hell out of police and were taken alive with nary a scratch to be found, BUT they weren't Black/Brown/Native/etc. There is no justification for police murdering someone within 10 seconds of being on scene. They did this to Tamir Rice and he was a child. I can't process the level of reach some of y'all have when the person murdered isn't the same hue as you.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

1 minute ago, NurseBlaq said:

She literally had just picked the knife up and you conveniently missed the part where she was running from someone and they shoved her to the ground immediately before she got up and picked up the knife

Yes. It was a bad situation in general. Young girls in foster care and I'm sure their lives are tough. Not having parents or any support system/sense of love does a lot to kids and it manifests in behaviors. We need to invest in programs to combat this issue and in training police in de-escalation. I do know being a cop is really hard. But, in adolescent psych my coworkers dealt with teens fighting with weapons and they didn't have guns to solve the problem, so it's obviously possible. De-escalation really does work. At least try it first.

Same for all those suffering from psychosis or mania who have been shot by police. First they agitate them more by yelling at them to stop and obey while they are totally out of touch with reality and not capable of doing so. Then when the behaviors worsen they get shot. I as a small woman have dealt with the exact same behaviors with a much better outcome. Basic training on mental health emergencies. I understand police shooting when they or others are being shot at. I can't imagine being in that situation. I was a few feet away from a driveway shooting and I still think about it often, so dealing with gun violence routinely must be traumatizing.  

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

2 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

They did this to Tamir Rice and he was a child. I can't process the level of reach some of y'all have when the person murdered isn't the same hue as you.

Exactly!! If he was a white child that would never have happened. We are trained to view black boys as criminals, so of course it was assumed he had a gun. No benefit of the doubt. Black boys aren't given the chance to be seen as innocent children who need love and care. What about Ahmaud Arbery? He was just going for a run in a nice neighborhood. Not bothering anyone or even interacting with anyone. No gun, no knife, not a threat to ANYONE. Got shot and killed. How can someone say that's not due to racism??? Have you heard of a white guy running getting randomly shot?

[NurseBlaq]

1 minute ago, LibraNurse27 said:

Yes. It was a bad situation in general. Young girls in foster care and I'm sure their lives are tough. Not having parents or any support system/sense of love does a lot to kids and it manifests in behaviors. We need to invest in programs to combat this issue and in training police in de-escalation. I do know being a cop is really hard. But, in adolescent psych my coworkers dealt with teens fighting with weapons and they didn't have guns to solve the problem, so it's obviously possible. De-escalation really does work. At least try it first.

Same for all those suffering from psychosis or mania who have been shot by police. First they agitate them more by yelling at them to stop and obey while they are totally out of touch with reality and not capable of doing so. Then when the behaviors worsen they get shot. I as a small woman have dealt with the exact same behaviors with a much better outcome. Basic training on mental health emergencies. I understand police shooting when they or others are being shot at. I can't imagine being in that situation. I was a few feet away from a driveway shooting and I still think about it often, so dealing with gun violence routinely must be traumatizing.  

That child and her siblings were failed all around. I hope her siblings are well protected because this whole situation upsets my spirits. Did you see her sister's video after she was murdered? That child is in crisis and needs help.

[NurseBlaq]

Just now, LibraNurse27 said:

Exactly!! If he was a white child that would never have happened. We are trained to view black boys as criminals, so of course it was assumed he had a gun. No benefit of the doubt. Black boys aren't given the chance to be seen as innocent children who need love and care. What about Ahmaud Arbery? He was just going for a run in a nice neighborhood. Not bothering anyone or even interacting with anyone. No gun, no knife, not a threat to ANYONE. Got shot and killed. How can someone say that's not due to racism??? Have you heard of a white guy running getting randomly shot?

Don't get me started. The whole damn planet saw George Floyd being murdered in HD and people still found a way to make excuses. His lawyer is trying to get him off on some BS now. My PTSD can't tolerate this.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

2 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

That child and her siblings were failed all around. I hope her siblings are well protected because this whole situation upsets my spirits. Did you see her sister's video after she was murdered? That child is in crisis and needs help.

I didn't see the video but I will watch. It breaks my heart to see how many children are in dire need of just basic things like love, support, and stability. When I worked at an after school program I couldn't believe the number of kids living in terrible situations. Some went home to a house with no food, parents high/drunk/abusive/absent, no soap or shampoo. With this kind of start in life how can we tell people that everyone is equal and you can do anything if you put your mind to it? Systemic racism and the poverty and lack of opportunity it creates shapes lives. If you have no parents, go to an underfunded school full of kids with needs, and live in a dangerous neighborhood, it is hard to overcome. 

2 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

The whole damn planet saw George Floyd being murdered in HD and people still found a way to make excuses.

Yes, by saying he had drugs in his system. If he did, does that mean he deserves to be slowly choked to death? Is that what you're saying? That doing drugs justifies this type of murder? I've met plenty of people who do plenty of drugs and didn't think to call the police to come choke them. 

[NurseBlaq]

2 minutes ago, LibraNurse27 said:

I didn't see the video but I will watch. It breaks my heart to see how many children are in dire need of just basic things like love, support, and stability. When I worked at an after school program I couldn't believe the number of kids living in terrible situations. Some went home to a house with no food, parents high/drunk/abusive/absent, no soap or shampoo. With this kind of start in life how can we tell people that everyone is equal and you can do anything if you put your mind to it? Systemic racism and the poverty and lack of opportunity it creates shapes lives. If you have no parents, go to an underfunded school full of kids with needs, and live in a dangerous neighborhood, it is hard to overcome. 

My children have friends who sometimes don't have much and I swear I have accidentally adopted so many over the years. They come in all races, creeds, and religions. It doesn't bother me because I'm grateful to be blessed to give back. You don't separate children, same as you don't mistreat the elderly. There are just basic rules to civility and people seem to feign ignorance or don't care. Humanity has to do better.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

4 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

My children have friends who sometimes don't have much and I swear I have accidentally adopted so many over the years. They come in all races, creeds, and religions. It doesn't bother me because I'm grateful to be blessed to give back. You don't separate children, same as you don't mistreat the elderly. There are just basic rules to civility and people seem to feign ignorance or don't care. Humanity has to do better.

That is so nice. I am looking into adoption and it's so hard to only be able to help one or 2 kids. the CA state adoption website has hundreds of kids on it and they all have little profiles saying their names, ages, interests, etc. If I look at it too long I start crying. And I'm not a wimp I swear. county hospital knocked that out of me LOL 

[NurseBlaq]

10 minutes ago, LibraNurse27 said:

That is so nice. I am looking into adoption and it's so hard to only be able to help one or 2 kids. the CA state adoption website has hundreds of kids on it and they all have little profiles saying their names, ages, interests, etc. If I look at it too long I start crying. And I'm not a wimp I swear. county hospital knocked that out of me LOL 

I won't ever do peds because I can't take it. I barely made it through peds clinicals in undergrad.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

3 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

I won't ever do peds because I can't take it. I barely made it through peds clinicals in undergrad.

Me too! I think we would be friends in real life.