Philonise Floyd got emotional about the killing of his sibling, George, while in Minneapolis police custody when testifying before a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday on U.S. police practices and law enforcement accountability.
He said it was hard to watch the video of his big brother, a black man, pleading for his life as the now-fired white police officer charged with murder, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee to George’s neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed, face down in the street.
Philonise declared in his written testimony that he read out loud during the hearing:
[George] was our gentle giant. I was reminded of that when I watched the video of his murder. He was mild mannered; he didn’t fight back. He listened to the officers. He called them ‘sir.’ The men who took his life, who suffocated him for eight minutes and 46 seconds. He still called them ‘sir’ as he begged for his life.
I can’t tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother, who you’ve looked up to your whole life, die. Die begging for your mom. I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain I’m feeling now, and I’m tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason. I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired.
George died on May 25. Lawmakers from both parties described George’s death as murder. In addition to Chauvin, authorities have charged three other officers who witnessed the incident with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
George’s death has triggered protests in the United States and beyond against police brutality and disparities in how law enforcement treats people of color. Some of the protests in the wake of Floyd’s death devolved into deadly riots that killed at least 13 people and injured dozens of others, many of them black Americans. George’s children have condemned the violent riots.
Philonise got emotional and fought back tears as he read the end of his written testimony. He proclaimed:
Enough is enough. The people marching in the streets are telling you enough is enough. Be the leaders that this country, this world, needs. Do the right thing.The people elected you to speak for them, to make positive change. George’s name means something. You have the opportunity here to make your names mean something, too.
If his death ends up changing the world for the better. And I think it will. I think it has. Then he died as he lived. It is on you to make sure his death isn’t in vain.I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Perry while he was here. I was robbed of that. But, I know he’s looking down on us now. Perry, look at what you did, big brother. You’re changing the world. Thank you for everything. For taking care of us when you were on Earth, and for taking care of all of us now. I hope you found mama and can rest in peace and power.
While most of the world knows his brother as George, Philonise said he called him Perry.
None of the 12 witnesses who testified Wednesday spoke in favor of the increasingly loud “defund the police” calls by leftists that have become a battle cry for many of the George protesters.
However, they acknowledged that policing in the United States is in need of reforms.