Chief O'Hara: Police must reckon with "despicable" fact that an MPD officer murdered George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Gara says the trauma from George Floyd's murder at the hands of a former officer still reverberates for those in the community - and police department - three years since the death sparked protests around the globe.
O'Hara, sworn in as MPD's top cop six months ago, released a statement on Thursday.
"As police, we must reckon with the despicable fact that a Minneapolis Police officer murdered a man," the statement reads in part.
O'Hara says Floyd's death changed not only the history of the city, but the history of the policing profession itself.
Read the full statement below:
On this day three years ago, the world watched as Minneapolis dealt with unprecedented protests and unrest in response not just to the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, but due to decades of a complicated and painful relationship between police and communities of color. As I watched the media coverage of the situation on the ground in Minneapolis and led police in Newark through the aftermath, I never realized that I was a couple of years removed from taking the helm of that same Minneapolis Police Department.
This is the first anniversary of George Floyd's murder while I have been the Minneapolis Police Chief. It is crystal clear to me that the trauma of George Floyd's murder still reverberates with the people of Minneapolis and the members of the MPD. The brutality of his murder and the injustice of his death were deeply emotional. The sight of an officer's knee on George Floyd's neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds shook this city, the nation, and the world to its core. Members of the MPD would hold the line through endless and incredibly challenging days of civil unrest and the destruction of the city that followed. Our residents and police are both deeply traumatized by all of it. The history of what happened on this day three years ago at 38th and Chicago and what happened across the city in the days that followed are now indelibly intertwined with the fabric of our city.
As police, we must reckon with the despicable fact that a Minneapolis Police officer murdered a man.
We need to understand that the culture of policing in this city at the time allowed not only for such a thing to occur but allowed for it to occur while the involved officers were fully and callously aware that all of their actions and inactions were not only in full view of the public but also being recorded.
Additionally, we must own the fact that there is an underlying history of racialized trauma affixed to interactions between police and Black people in this country.
Without owning up to these facts, we cannot heal, and we will not move forward.
I am not here to mark time. I came to this city at this moment because my life experience and approach to policing are rooted in making change real and building bridges with the community. The work that we do in this city, at this moment, will be a blueprint for communities all across this country. Minneapolis is ground zero, and we will accept that responsibility and use it to ensure that this period does not pass us by and does not result in the maintenance of the status quo.
Mr. Floyd's tragic murder has changed not just the history of this city but the history of the policing profession itself. I will ensure that this department is a part of leading that change.
We remember Mr. Floyd and the inhumane and unlawful loss of his life. But we will not retreat from our mission, and we will continue to live each day building a police department worthy of the privilege of serving our communities and that, through its actions, earns the trust of all of our residents.
President Joe Biden in a morning statement said there is still work to be done on police reform.
"As a Nation, may we ensure that George Floyd's legacy and the legacy of so many others we also honor every day are not solely about their deaths, but what we do to honor their memory," Biden said on Thursday.
Former MPD officer Derek Chauvin murdered Floyd on May 25, 2020, kneeling on him for more than 9 minutes while Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe.
Chauvin and three other former officers -- Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane -- have been convicted on both state and federal charges for their roles in Floyd's death. All four have received their federal sentences, while Thao awaits his state sentencing. Earlier this month, Chauvin appealed his state conviction to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
