Broken Halos

*** I feel sure this writing is likely to piss some readers off.  I accept that. My intentions are pure and good. Leave your counterpoints in a calm intelligent fashion in the comments section. We'll see what progress we can make in understanding one another. ***

 As raw emotions begin to subside and hindsight comes into focus perhaps progress can be made, but not before confronting a lot of very difficult facts.

Let us begin with the death of George Floyd. We have seen the pictures and videos. It is ghastly to watch the actual death of one human being at the hands of another. Mr. Floyd should not have died that fateful day and especially not in such a heinous manner.  Eye's rightfully turned red with rage and hearts turned black with hatred.

Why did this happen?

Why is my favorite question and seeking the why of this incident has led me down an interesting path. Some of what I am about to type will undoubtedly be seen as controversial and met with vile hyperbole at first glance and so I urged caution and patience in allowing the entirety of this writing to unfold.

Why did Derek Chauvin restrain Geroge Floyd as he did for over 8 minutes?  This seems a question worth asking. So, too is it worth asking why Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng stood passively by while this happened. There are are still more why questions to be asked; why did Darnella Frazier, one videographer of the murder, not use her phone to call for help instead of filming the event? And why, on a busy street, did nobody intervene? 

I ask these questions not to deflect blame or criticism from Derek Chauvin, but in honest curiosity. 

There are going to be a lot of different answers and some of them are definitely not going to reflect the conventional narrative produced by media nor conclusions leapt to by the masses in the raw emotions of the moment. More questions will arise than we have answers for and than time will allow me to address in a blog post.

Why did Derek Chauvin restrain George Floyd with a knee to the neck for over 8 minutes?

Racism and police brutality is the battle cry that has risen up and inflamed the masses.

In researching the incident, and 100% with the benefit of information not readily available to the public in the moment, some interesting facts have come to light.  Why was it necessary to restrain George Floyd for over 8 minutes?  The official toxicology reports from the autopsy determined George Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system when he died, as well as cannabis compounds and morphine.  Drugs alter one's state of mind and can be the source of unusual physical strength. 

Okay, that information offers a partial reason, but certainly does not excuse the entirety of the officers actions.

The call to EMS came in for a Code 2 response. My understanding of a Code 2 Response is it indicates the need for an acute but non-time critical response. The ambulance does not use lights and sirens to respond.  This could support the premise that officers were having difficulty safely restraining Mr. Floyd possibly due to his being under the influence of drugs.  The on-scene EMT's sent a second call for a Code 3 response. A Code 3 Response indicates the necessity for use of lights and siren in responding. A definite sense of emergency and urgency is attached to a Code 3 response.

Further, public video clearly shows three of the officers subduing Mr. Floyd before Derek Chauvin is seen as the sole restrainer of him. I have not confirmed the 4th officer is the one who summoned EMS, but it is a logical inference given the circumstances.  

While there now exists a plausible scenario (sans justification) for the officers actions and in-actions, I believe a bit more background is necessary before transitioning to seeking answers as to why others on scene did not intervene. 

The first EMT's on scene made a rapid decision to "load and go" instead of unloading equipment and attempting to save Mr. Floyd's life on scene. I have personally been "load and go" and will attest to this being an extremely urgent, time is sensitive, response. My life was saved.  The on sen paramedics  issued a Code 3 call and were met in route to the hospital by a unit from the Fire Department, stopped long enough to load two other personnel to assist in life saving measures and continued to the Emergency Room. The situation had obviously changed in the intervening minutes between the first call to EMS and the arrival on scene of the first EMTs.

So, why did Darnella Frazier or any of the subsequent videographers of this horrible event not intervene?  That is for each of those individuals to say.  I would think ignorance and lack or training to be culprits. That is not to say any of these people are ignorant. It is to say, they did not know any better. Who calls the cops on the cops. right?  Did anyone even think to call the State Police or FBI?  Did anyone even consider calling the Minneapolis Police Department to bring awareness to the situation and get a supervisor on scene?  

And there were other witnesses to this event. Did you know an off duty firefighter was present? Why did he not identify himself and seek to assist Mr. Floyd?  Why did no one present come to the physical assistance of Mr. Floyd?  Is not a human life worth the risk of an obstruction charge?  

I don't have answers for these why questions. Only those present who watched as Mr. Floyd's life slipped away can speak for themselves. I would like to think I would have intervened, physically so, if necessary to help another human being in such circumstances. I don't know that I would have, but I think I would have. 

There are enough broken halos to be shared by any and all those present that dreadful day. Mr. Floyd was no saint, he was in custody for suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20.00 bill and under the influence of a number of drugs several of which have taken lives. If we are honest with ourselves, Mr. Floyd is not highly deserving of the martyr / sainthood status he is being elevated to. Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng need to answer questions and be held accountable for their actions and in-actions.  All who passively stood by video recording or watching need to, in the very least, do some soul searching for by not acting they condoned what they witnessed. Broken halos all around. 

I believe Mr. Floyd is very much deserving of posthumous answers for a most undeserving and unnecessary death. And in the light of hindsight I am less than certain Derek Chauvin held nefarious motivation in his heart and intentionally set about to kill George Floyd that day. There exists a balance between these two sentiments and that is where the healing and growth processes begin. We are all in this together and We need to work calmly together to figure this out.