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...

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.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

On 6/7/2020 at 10:27 PM, herring_RN said:

How the U.S. Got Its Police Force

... The first publicly funded, organized police force with officers on duty full-time was created in Boston in 1838. Boston was a large shipping commercial center, and businesses had been hiring people to protect their property and safeguard the transport of goods from the port of Boston to other places, says Potter. These merchants came up with a way to save money by transferring to the cost of maintaining a police force to citizens by arguing that it was for the “collective good.”

In the South, however, the economics that drove the creation of police forces were centered not on the protection of shipping interests but on the preservation of the slavery system. Some of the primary policing institutions there were the slave patrols tasked with chasing down runaways and preventing slave revolts, Potter says; the first formal slave patrol had been created in the Carolina colonies in 1704. During the Civil War, the military became the primary form of law enforcement in the South, but during Reconstruction, many local sheriffs functioned in a way analogous to the earlier slave patrols, enforcing segregation and the disenfranchisement of freed slaves...

https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/

There was policing before that. Someone had to use the scold on excessively verbal women in the early days of America, someone had to put people in the stocks.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

On 6/7/2020 at 11:10 PM, toomuchbaloney said:

Rioting to most evokes images of Detroit or LA...you know...angry black people.

anyone who turns on a TV sees a diverse mix of all races and walks of life protesting, as well as the same type of mix rioting. Folks are being re-educated very quickly about the realities of protesting/rioting as far as racial/gender barriers. Those that aren't are too stubborn to see.

My children, who are adults, have marched in protests in their town. Luckily, no incidents of violence from anyone. There were a couple of arrests (both white men) for attempts to rob small businesses-1 was the right hand man of the protest organizer. This is sad, as it does nothing to help the cause.

Am I proud of my sons? Sure, because if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. But I also have a healthy dose of mother's worry, as some of these protest have turned violent in the blink of an eye, leaving innocent victims in their wake

[morte, LPN, LVN]

On 6/5/2020 at 6:37 PM, Wildflower8 said:

Has everyone forgotten who maintains order in this country? How many police officers have been killed by violent criminals— where is the outrage for their lives? Don’t all lives matter? Bashing the police and rioting solves nothing. It’s only causing more lives to be lost and businesses to be destroyed. I don’t support anything that has to do with burning down buildings, blocking people from driving to work, throwing bricks at horses and bashing our police force. The police officers involved have been arrested and will have their trial— continuing this chaos and hurting others accomplishes nothing productive.

Cops assist in maintaining order. If this a$$hat had been canned 15+ years ago, this would not have happened. Stop trying to deflect/defend

[eakirlin]

Excuse me.... but it takes much more than a police force to maintain civic order. Where there is no justice, there is no peace.

Have any of you used your first ammendment rights to meet in a peaceful assembly to petition the Government? The first time I did, was in 1969 when I marched against the Vietnam War. We just celebrated the 50th year anniversary of the students killed and injured at Kent State. America knew of the Fulf of Tonkin incident. The war had had protests for years, no end in sight, and was extremely unpopular.

I was not at Kent State, however. On this day, my medium sized metropolis of maybe 1/2 million, had streets along the main route of the protest, that were lined with deputies, hands on holsters, lining the boulevard. We were told via loudspeaker that the police were not there to protect the peaceful marchers. They were there to protect the storefronts along the boulevard. Then it was pointed out that the buildings carried vigilantes with sniper rifles, shooting at us, and those of us in peaceful assembly were on our own. Mind you, several hundred students , no weapons, a few carrying signs, many of us with relatives being drafted into the war, and some of us with relatives who had fled to Canada to escape the draft, no fisticuffs, no bricks, and thankfully no tear gas or horses to break us up. But we were told essentially that the storefronts were of primary importance. There were no looters among us. The view of law enforcement with its chief role as "protector of property", and by deduction, there to protect only those with a stake in property, has a long historical context of how we got to this pass.

Then... and this is really amazing, I got visited by the FBI for weeks afterwards. I do not have a criminal record. I did not yet have the vote. I belonged to no groups. I was working on my Chemistry degree, and that is about all I had time for. Your tax dollars at work. The FBI had followed , targeted, and visited dozens of students over a period of weeks and months. Was this an attempt to intimidate, I believe, but only the FBI know for sure.

Anyway, until you have taken your first ammendment rights for a test drive around the block, realize you may not be aware of how this rolls out.

[toomuchbaloney]

5 hours ago, Hoosier_RN said:

anyone who turns on a TV sees a diverse mix of all races and walks of life protesting, as well as the same type of mix rioting. Folks are being re-educated very quickly about the realities of protesting/rioting as far as racial/gender barriers. Those that aren't are too stubborn to see.

My children, who are adults, have marched in protests in their town. Luckily, no incidents of violence from anyone. There were a couple of arrests (both white men) for attempts to rob small businesses-1 was the right hand man of the protest organizer. This is sad, as it does nothing to help the cause.

Am I proud of my sons? Sure, because if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. But I also have a healthy dose of mother's worry, as some of these protest have turned violent in the blink of an eye, leaving innocent victims in their

Perhaps you have an appreciation for how a black mom feels when her son wants to walk to the local store or go for a drive...in a violent blink police could end his life and not ever get arrested.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

3 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Perhaps you have an appreciation for how a black mom feels when her son wants to walk to the local store or go for a drive...in a violent blink police could end his life and not ever get arrested.

I've had that appreciation for far longer than you will ever know. I grew up as one of the few white faces in an all black neighborhood. Luckily, most of the neighbors were friendly. Some weren't. My sons are biracial. So please, don't speak to what I do and don't appreciate

ETA: my youngest has been arrested more than once. Was it the color of his skin? Nope, it was his stupidity of wanting to do drugs and steal. He's finally straightened up and has turned his life around. My oldest has never had a problem with the law. With the color of both of their skin, they were the perfect candidates for harassment by the police

[toomuchbaloney]

1 minute ago, Hoosier_RN said:

I've had that appreciation for far longer than you will ever know. I grew up as one of the few white faces in an all black neighborhood. Luckily, most of the neighbors were friendly. Some weren't. My sons are biracial. So please, don't speak to what I do and don't appreciate

Your choice to be offended by my words when none was intended. I imagine that you must feel a deep sense of the concern and outrage expressed by these protesters. I know I do and I don't have biracial children. My son was let go after being caught with cannabis as a teen ...the officer called his parents (we were well known white people in the area). His black friend, the next weekend, was arrested by the same officer for his possession of Marijuana. The police didn't call his parents or give him a break.

[milmom35]

22 hours ago, Kooky Korky said:

Nurses know the risks when they take a job in, for example, the ER or sign up for work that requires lifting and tugging on heavy people, often with little help.

I agree that there are good and bad apples and that there needs to be reform.

You do know, of course, that police sometimes face situations where only force will work. And force isn't pretty.

People need to know that the first priority, second priority, and 100th priority of a policeman is to go home in one piece, walking. If they can help people or stop/prevent crime, clean up a car wreck, or otherwise do good, that's wonderful. However, first and foremost if officer safety. Anything wrong with that?

Perhaps fear isn't the right word. Perhaps respect and obey authority is right. A lot of people don't.

You mention safety...So who will police the police if their #1 priority is to go home (at all costs, even that of human life)? Isn't it ironic that their job is to KEEP the public safe? Wouldn't you agree that respect is to be earned?

As for nurse safety...yes, there are risks like you said. So what would you say is the role of Quality and Safety guidelines....infection control...occupational health....all those guidelines and little boxes to check off? What would healthcare look like if we keep blaming individual nurses for their work injuries from "lifting heavy people" and say "hey you signed up for this"? PPE shortage...violence and harassment at work...short staffing...would you say nurses signed up for all these too when they recited the Nightingale pledge?

[milmom35]

On 6/3/2020 at 2:59 AM, Workitinurfava said:

Society always focuses on blk and white issues, makes it seem like these are the only races that exist at times.

interesting observation...by "society" I'm guess you mean the media? Help me understand, are you saying:

a) saying the media needs to stop reporting on "black and white issues" since they've filled the quota? Do we need to vote on a limit on how many stories can be on tv about a certain race?

b) the media needs more features on pressing issues faced by people of other races in the US?

c) feeling left out of this horrific drama that's been playing out since.....let's see...400+ years ago when black slaves were brought to this country that was settled by white colonists from Europe after they murdered and pushed Native Americans from their own land?

[Iluvboba]

The great diversity experiment has failed and will always fail.

[milmom35]

On 6/5/2020 at 2:53 AM, Numenor said:

1. This is selective. I can think of multiple episodes of police killings of non-black people in the same manner as GF without barely thinking. Not a peep from the national media (Tony Timpa, Thomas Kelly immediately come to mind along with several others in the past few years). Cops kill people justly and unjustly every day but the media only cares about the narrative. Your statement "I am sure that happens too", proves my point. It does happen, and it happens a lot to non-black folks. You brush it off like its nothing. Bandwagon virtue signalling and grandstanding, shows people are only interested when the media and their friendly are blaring the problem 24/7 on social media/news because it generates clicks and hashtags. People are poorly educated on this.

2. Black men are not the majority killed by cops, their increased numbers are due to the fact they commit a disproportionate number of crimes, specifically violent. When 2-3% of the population commits near 50% of the murder, violent robberies and 30% of the rapes, yeah you are going to get more deaths by police. Common sense 101. I mention this because you like to bring up disproportionate figures, well this is a HUGELY disproportionate one along with 70% single parent households leading to even more community/socioeconomic disarray (topic for another day). However, regardless of who commits the crime, unjust killings need to stop.

3. This is a police brutality issue, not a race issue. Stop trying to red herring fallacy the actual problem. Your post is literally trying to bury the real glaring conflict which is police brutality with a litany of other issues that come from different source. Police brutality is an ALL race issue.

@Numenor are you saying that:

1. The media is the problem because they don't feature stories about non-black folks getting murdered? Seriously, aren't we all tired of constantly hearing ALL these reports about black men getting shot, arrested, beaten up and killed by police? And that my statement agreeing that police do kill people of different races' proves that I don't care about the deaths of non-black people either? Isn't it fair to have this discussion post focus on police brutality against black people as the forum post is clearly about George Floyd's death and the nationwide (actually global) protests ? And what do you propose to do about the fact that "people are poorly educated about this"? Are you doing outreach to the media to better educate them too?

2. Would you provide references/citations for those statistics so we can all be better educated about what you've shared? As your profile indicates that you have in fact, attended graduate school, would you agree that statistics are sometimes used to support different views based on how they're interpreted? That study design, sample size, location and participant demographics are major variables that may in fact mean that the result of a single study (or 5, or 10) cannot be generalized across entire populations?

You also stated the issue of "70% single-parent households"--again, would you please share some solid evidence like peer reviewed articles or non-partisan research sources so we can all be better informed? It sounds like your saying that violent crime by black men in the US is caused by single parent households, or did I misinterpret that?

I believe we all agree that "unjust killings need to stop."

3. By saying it's a police brutality issue, not race--are you proposing that race must be ignored completely as we now live in a post-racial world? That crime reporting, media and every aspect of American life needs to be color-blind and state the race of the people involved? Would you be willing to follow your own advice as you explicitly point out statistics on violence and single parent households for black people in the U.S.? How do you think the encounter between George Floyd and the police officer would have gone if Mr. Floyd was a white man? If perhaps, it was a different state? Or what if Mr. Floyd was accused of having $20 million worth of fake money instead of a $20 bill?

And are you saying my response to this thread on Mr. Floyds brutal death by a white police office is somehow responsible for the lack of public awareness about police brutality? How do you explain separating the issue of police brutality against black men (and women)from the all the other pressing issues affecting African Americans (from economics to poor outcomes like higher number of COVID-19 deaths to incarceration.....and the list goes on and on)? If the results of these protests focused on the Black Lives Matter movement lead to reforms to reduce excessive force and murder by police--then wouldn't that benefit everyone, regardless of race?

NOTE-I may not respond further to this thread. My hope is to examine the ideas presented--it's not a personal attack as I don't know any of the people I've responded to. Nurses and healthcare providers have a responsibility to examine bias and assumptions. Understanding research is also important in clinical practice. If anyone has a burning desire to better understand statistics and research drop me a line.

@tnbutterfly - Mary, thanks for opening the discussion on such a pressing and important issue.

References and Suggested Reading:

Huff, D. (1993). How to lie with statistics. WW Norton & Company. https://is.gd/UeS2j2

Zuberi, T. (2001). Thicker than blood: How racial statistics lie. U of Minnesota Press. https://is.gd/a87W84

Sirry Alang, Donna McAlpine, Ellen McCreedy, Rachel Hardeman, “Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars”, American Journal of Public Health 107, no. 5 (May 1, 2017): pp. 662-665. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303691

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2006). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. https://is.gd/qV9oU2

Armour, J. D. (1997). Negrophobia and reasonable racism: The hidden costs of being black in America (Vol. 32). NYU Press. https://is.gd/Oq4AHl

LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (2017). Nursing research-E-book: methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. https://is.gd/XvtAaj

Jakubec, S. L., & Astle, B. J. (2015). Research literacy. Encyclopedia of nursing education, 297-299. https://is.gd/0Gps1D

Thebault R, Ba Tran A, Williams V. The coronavirus is infecting and killing black Americans at an alarmingly high rate. Washington Post. April 7, 2020.https://is.gd/eY7fF0

Reyes C, Husain N, Gutowski C, St Clair S, Pratt G. Chicago’s coronavirus disparity: black Chicagoans are dying at nearly six times the rate of white residents, data show. Chicago Tribune. Published April 7, 2020. https://is.gd/9WpSaZ

[toomuchbaloney]

On 6/8/2020 at 6:56 PM, milmom35 said:

@Numenor are you saying that:

1. The media is the problem because they don't feature stories about non-black folks getting murdered? Seriously, aren't we all tired of constantly hearing ALL these reports about black men getting shot, arrested, beaten up and killed by police? And that my statement agreeing that police do kill people of different races' proves that I don't care about the deaths of non-black people either? Isn't it fair to have this discussion post focus on police brutality against black people as the forum post is clearly about George Floyd's death and the nationwide (actually global) protests ? And what do you propose to do about the fact that "people are poorly educated about this"? Are you doing outreach to the media to better educate them too?

2. Would you provide references/citations for those statistics so we can all be better educated about what you've shared? As your profile indicates that you have in fact, attended graduate school, would you agree that statistics are sometimes used to support different views based on how they're interpreted? That study design, sample size, location and participant demographics are major variables that may in fact mean that the result of a single study (or 5, or 10) cannot be generalized across entire populations?

You also stated the issue of "70% single-parent households"--again, would you please share some solid evidence like peer reviewed articles or non-partisan research sources so we can all be better informed? It sounds like your saying that violent crime by black men in the US is caused by single parent households, or did I misinterpret that?

I believe we all agree that "unjust killings need to stop."

3. By saying it's a police brutality issue, not race--are you proposing that race must be ignored completely as we now live in a post-racial world? That crime reporting, media and every aspect of American life needs to be color-blind and state the race of the people involved? Would you be willing to follow your own advice as you explicitly point out statistics on violence and single parent households for black people in the U.S.? How do you think the encounter between George Floyd and the police officer would have gone if Mr. Floyd was a white man? If perhaps, it was a different state? Or what if Mr. Floyd was accused of having $20 million worth of fake money instead of a $20 bill?

And are you saying my response to this thread on Mr. Floyds brutal death by a white police office is somehow responsible for the lack of public awareness about police brutality? How do you explain separating the issue of police brutality against black men (and women)from the all the other pressing issues affecting African Americans (from economics to poor outcomes like higher number of COVID-19 deaths to incarceration.....and the list goes on and on)? If the results of these protests focused on the Black Lives Matter movement lead to reforms to reduce excessive force and murder by police--then wouldn't that benefit everyone, regardless of race?

NOTE-I may not respond further to this thread. My hope is to examine the ideas presented--it's not a personal attack as I don't know any of the people I've responded to. Nurses and healthcare providers have a responsibility to examine bias and assumptions. Understanding research is also important in clinical practice. If anyone has a burning desire to better understand statistics and research drop me a line.

@tnbutterfly - Mary, thanks for opening the discussion on such a pressing and important issue.

References and Suggested Reading:

Huff, D. (1993). How to lie with statistics. WW Norton & Company. https://is.gd/UeS2j2

Zuberi, T. (2001). Thicker than blood: How racial statistics lie. U of Minnesota Press. https://is.gd/a87W84

Sirry Alang, Donna McAlpine, Ellen McCreedy, Rachel Hardeman, “Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars”, American Journal of Public Health 107, no. 5 (May 1, 2017): pp. 662-665. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303691

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2006). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. https://is.gd/qV9oU2

Armour, J. D. (1997). Negrophobia and reasonable racism: The hidden costs of being black in America (Vol. 32). NYU Press. https://is.gd/Oq4AHl

LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (2017). Nursing research-E-book: methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. https://is.gd/XvtAaj

Jakubec, S. L., & Astle, B. J. (2015). Research literacy. Encyclopedia of nursing education, 297-299. https://is.gd/0Gps1D

Thebault R, Ba Tran A, Williams V. The coronavirus is infecting and killing black Americans at an alarmingly high rate. Washington Post. April 7, 2020.https://is.gd/eY7fF0

Reyes C, Husain N, Gutowski C, St Clair S, Pratt G. Chicago’s coronavirus disparity: black Chicagoans are dying at nearly six times the rate of white residents, data show. Chicago Tribune. Published April 7, 2020. https://is.gd/9WpSaZ

I hope that you continue to respond. We need reasoned voices and thinking during dangerous times.