Police Chief Michael Shaw of the Webster, Massachusetts, police department lay face-down on the ground at the urging of a “Black Lives Matter” protest on Saturday — and the entire incident was filmed and posted to social media.
According to the Webster Telegram, Chief Shaw joined a crowd of several hundred demonstrators “in laying on the ground for 8 minutes while screams of ‘mama’ and ’I can’t breathe,’ the last words of George Floyd,” were yelled out.
Floyd, 46, was killed in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, no Memorial Day as one officer had his knee on Floyd’s neck. The officer involved, Derek Chauvin, was arrested and faces second-degree murder charges. Three other officers involved in the arrest have also been charged, and the Department of the Justice is also investigating.
Protests have been held nationwide, with demonstrators in several locations urging police to join them in “taking a knee.” Some did so; others refused.
However, Shaw went much further than that, and prostrated his entire body on the ground as part of a “die-in” to re-enact Floyd’s death.
The Telegram reported that the protest was organized by a local high school sophomore and that protesters met with the police chief beforehand to ensure that the demonstration would be peaceful, safe, and orderly.
The Webster Police Department reported on its Facebook page that the protest was held without incident, “with the exception of a motorcyclist failing to stop for an officer and almost hitting him.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file