Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michael Moore said that George Floyd’s death is on the hands of looters and those involved in violent protests just “as much as” the police officers involved in his arrest.
Moore made the controversial remarks on Monday. He said that Los Angeles “didn’t have protests last night, we had criminal acts.”
“We didn’t have people mourning the death of this man George Floyd, we had people capitalizing. His death is on their hands as much as it is those officers,” the city’s top law enforcement officer said.
Moore acknowledged that the comment was “a strong statement.”
“But I must say, that this civil unrest that we’re in the midst of, we must turn a corner from people who are involved in violence. People who are involved in preying upon others,” he said.
LAPD Chief Michael Moore just said that George Floyd’s “death is on [protestors’ and looters’] hands, as much as it is on those officers’.” pic.twitter.com/7KSYwGCYeb
— Max Dubler ?️? (@maxdubler) June 2, 2020
Protests began across the country when a video showing Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground using his knee went viral. Floyd, a black man, can be heard begging Chauvin, a white man, for air and repeatedly saying he can’t breathe before appearing to fall unconscious. Protests after his death have turned violent, with President Trump saying Monday that he will deploy active-duty troops to quell civil unrest if local and state officials can’t contain the demonstrations.
“Today, I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets,” Trump said from the Rose Garden. “Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled. If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
After the president’s speech, he walked to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he was seen holding up a Bible. The move was slammed by the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., as “antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.”
