The brother of George Floyd — the black Minneapolis man who died in police custody after a cop kneeled on his neck for several minutes — on Thursday called for the officers involved to face the death penalty.
Philonise Floyd told CNN he understands the pain of protesters rioting against his 46-year-old brother’s death, saying that “they’re tired of seeing black men die, constantly.”
“My brother said that he couldn’t breathe and nobody cared, and these officers they need to be arrested and held accountable right now … because these people want justice,” Philonise said in an interview on “New Day.”
Asked what justice for his brother looks like, Philonise said: “Justice is these guys being arrested, convicted of murder and getting the death penalty.”
“They took my brother’s life,” he added. “He will never get that back. I will never see him again. My family will never see him again. His kids will never see him again.”
Breaking into tears, Philonise described his reaction to watching the cellphone video of his brother’s arrest Monday, that showed Floyd on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back while Officer Derek Chauvin pressed him to the ground using his knee.
In the widely circulated clip, Chauvin, who is white, holds Floyd down by the neck, even as he cries out that he can’t breathe. The video ends with paramedics lifting a limp Floyd into an ambulance.
“Those four officers — they executed my brother,” Philonise said. “They showed no empathy, no compassion.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday also called for Chauvin to be arrested and charged by prosecutors.
The death penalty has been abolished in Minnesota since 1911. The US Department of Justice, however, has the ability to bring charges eligible for the federal death penalty.
