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.
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.
I said what I said. I'm not going down the rabbit hole of what-ifs with you and I'm not engaging any further in trying to validate this child's murder. My point is clear and it won't change.
Yet, you still post...
ETA: my point was that there’s a fine line between holding officers accountable for their actions and scapegoating them for systemic failures and oppression over which they have no control.
What muno’s screenshot does show is what the cop saw when he got out of his car: a potentially lethal stabbing already in progress. Which Black teen was he supposed to favor? The person with the knife, about whom he knew NOTHING, or the one the knife was aimed at, about whom he also knew NOTHING? How long did he have before that knife entered the other Black teen’s abdomen/chest. Seconds? Enough time to talk the stabber down? Take a social history and decide that the woman wielding the knife was somehow justified? No - this was a violent, possibly lethal assault in progress and his first duty was to protect the black teen who was the obviously the intended victim. He did that.
I agree.
Looking at the event objectively it’s clear that the situation the police officer faced was one where a person was in mortal danger. There was no way the police officer could know what would happen in the next second or two. He didn’t have the luxury of taking a couple of minutes to analyze the situation and think of different ways to approach the it.
What was unfolding in front of him was one female wielding a decent sized knife charging another female who was retreating until she became pinned against a car and had no way to escape the aggressor. The first female had the arm and hand holding the knife up and drawn back and could have plunged the knife into the second female in any second. The second female had twisted her upper body to the side (likely an instinctive reaction to protect her vital organs), raised the closest arm in front of her neck and torso (again defensive) and tried to use her leg to create separation between herself and the female with the knife.
There has been much talk about age. But first of all the the officers didn’t know the exact age of the persons involved in the altercation. But even if they had, I don’t think it would have made much of a difference in this situation. The attackers young age makes it a very tragic loss of life, but from what I saw there is no doubt that she, armed with a knife, posed a threat to the female in pink. I don’t understand how anyone fails to see that.
For posters who think that the police officer murdered the female with the knife, how would you have felt, and how would society at large have reacted, if the officers had just watched a person possibly getting stabbed to death?
If anyone of you had been the female dressed in pink, or if she had been a loved one, how would you have wanted the police to respond?
When the police officers arrived at the scene the situation was chaotic. For those who think that the officers could have solved this differently, how would you have interpreted what was unfolding before your eyes on that scene? You see a girl or woman who picks up a knife and charges after another girl/woman, despite police officers having arrived on scene? What does that tell you about her state of mind? Calm and rational? Obviously not. I don’t know about you, but I would be more concerned about a person doing something rash when it’s evident that their behavior isn’t that of someone making reasonable decisions.
It’s a sad situation altogether but I’m struggling to see how the police could have handled it differently without putting another person’s life in jeopardy. And I think in this case, the officers would have acted the exact same way regardless of the race or ethnicity of the people involved. It’s just hard to imagine a more clear-cut argument for self-defense than being unarmed and pinned against an object, facing an armed attacker.
There have been many widely publicized incidents, and no doubt many more that never received media attention, of police misconduct where race quite clearly was a factor. I don’t think this was one of them.
It still would of ended tragically. The knife she was holding was in the midst of going straight towards her neck. Assuming the cop ran forward or even tazed her to stop her, you still have to consider which would have landed first. The kinife, the police, or the prongs. I think the knife would of landed first. With adrenaline pumping and blood coming out the target would be dead by the time the ambulance came. Instead of being dead she would be in prison for murder. Even if no one died, she would be charged with attempted murder or aggravated assault.
The whole situation is tragic, before, after, and during. It is wrong to place the blame solely on that police for her death. Many people failed her.
You would have shot her simply because she's Black. I'm quite certain of that if nothing else.
You know that is uncalled for. You do not know me. I would have shot her because she was about to murder an unarmed person who was terrified and needed help. I could care less about the color of her skin. It was her actions. You need help with this paranoid state that you have yourself convinced that everyone is racist. How sad it must be for you and I feel for your coworkers who must be always on eggshells around you.
Attitudes like this are one of the reasons why the rest of the world find you Americans quite hard work. Because you have no clue or interest in finding out about the world outside your small area.
Our cops have guns, tasers and other stuff. Fortunately we got to leave the sticks and stones behind about several hundred years ago. Perhaps if your cops carried a few more sticks and stones they would not kill quite so many people.
We were also the first country in the world to give women the vote.
Do yourself a favour and get educated about the world outside your small area.
Knowledge is power
And if I sound snarky, take a moment and consider how you would feel if someone painted your country as a bunch of backward hicks.
I know enough about the rest of the world. I have studied enough. In both grad school programs that I have attended there was great emphasis on global understanding and learning about other cultures. I get it. Everyone has their own way. Sometimes we can learn from each other. But I do not want to change the US to fit others ideas of a Utopian society. What works in Japan or Canada or England or anywhere else will not work the same way here. We have different values. I love my country with all its quirks, wackos, and problems. I want to solve things here in a way that will work for us. Gun rights are fundamental to that. I am sorry that the cops have to shoot people. But I am sorrier yet that there is so much crime that brings it about. One is a symptom of the other. They need to get to the roots of crime to bring about change from the bottom up.
wow was that attack necessary?....... Read the TOS please.
Apologies. There may be blind persons on this site. I based my comment on the photo. Hence- are you blind. Did you not see the photo would have been more appropriate. Insensitive, I flagellate myself.
They should never be allowed to raid without announcing who they are. Perhaps none of that would have happened if the knew it was the police.
To be honest, realistically if someone was at the front door shouting they were cops I would not be able to hear them from my bedroom. I’d respond exactly the same as Taylor’s boyfriend, with a gun, thinking I was being burglarized.
police raids should be reserved for the most violent or critical situations, not drug offenses.
If the country was more Libertarian, we wouldn't have a police State happening in inner cities. Most of this stuff happens over trying to stamp out drug use by people who want to voluntarily get high and are denied the right to do so.
People should have a right to make their own decisions, even if they are bad choices. In a truly free society, folks should be able to make unwise choices.
To be honest, realistically if someone was at the front door shouting they were cops I would not be able to hear them from my bedroom. I’d respond exactly the same as Taylor’s boyfriend, with a gun, thinking I was being burglarized.
police raids should be reserved for the most violent or critical situations, not drug offenses.
I think the majority of violent and critical situations are probably drug related. They must have been expecting a big dealer or something. I do not think they would raid without the expectation of a big bust. The whole thing is unimaginable and scary. I see drug activity in my neighborhood and I always think- where are the cops? It is so blatant now. Cars pulled over passing things through the window in broad daylight. Once I saw it near the middle school. I have handled two teenage overdoses at work myself and I feel so much rage towards drug dealers. So many friends and family have lost children to drugs. A coworker's son had his throat slit and his head bashed in at 17 trying to buy marijuana. I think sometimes the cops have to do things in this way because there is no other way to catch them unaware and unprepared.
ETA: my point was that there’s a fine line between holding officers accountable for their actions and scapegoating them for systemic failures and oppression over which they have no control.
I didn't know I wasn't allowed to post unless I'm going down a rabbit hole. Even still, that's not what you said. Why couldn't you have said what you meant instead of asking me redundant questions that I've already made a stance on? Whatever, go off though.
heron, ASN, RN
4,662 Posts
Yet, you still post...
ETA: my point was that there’s a fine line between holding officers accountable for their actions and scapegoating them for systemic failures and oppression over which they have no control.