Press Release – Statement on Conviction in Murder of George Floyd

“While George Floyd is no longer with us, his spirit lives on. Today, a jury delivered accountability for an officer who wrongly and forcefully took the life of another man. His actions were an affront to the oath he swore to protect and serve.

“The heartwrenching murder of George Floyd has brought widespread attention to systemic racism and bias in our criminal justice system and the long history of law enforcement’s excessive use of force, which has most often been used to oppress Black Americans in this country.

“We will remain stuck as a nation until we redesign the systems that have intentionally kept us divided for generations.  Notwithstanding this verdict, there has been little federal legislative progress in the nearly one year since George Floyd’s murder.  We must all pull together to push harder than ever for substantive legislative change on the federal, state and local levels. The status quo will not hold.

“A nation divided against itself cannot stand. But a people, united, cannot fail. It is time to choose. Together, we must reaffirm that Black Lives Matter. Together, we must reimagine what policing in our country should look like. Together we must work to form that more perfect union. Together is the only way forward.”