Hey folks,
Today’s “After Action Analysis” Show focuses on the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
NOTE: For future reference, you can find all our George Floyd coverage, freely accessible, using the URL: lawofselfdefense.com/floyd
Here’s the roughly 10-minute video of the George Floyd arrest I mentioned in today’s “After Action Analysis” show:
ADDED 5/29/20: A portion of that same event, but from the reverse angle (very short, 17 seconds):
Also, here’s a very short video showing an earlier stage of the arrest. The media is making much of this video to argue that Floyd did not resits arrest. Note, however, that there is obviously a missing part of the interaction between the end of this short video and the start of the longer video above. Did Floyd resist arrest during that missing period? It seems likely, or he’d probably not have ended up on the road with a knee on his neck. [NOTE: Updated this clip with a longer version of the same video, 5/28/20, but the point re: missing context remains.]
Here you can find the Minneapolis Police Department Use-of-Force Policies, cited frequently during the show:
http://lawofselfdefense.com/mnpduof
While we intend to leave this “After Action Analysis” show freely accessible to both LOSD Members and non-members, you might want to consider becoming a member in order to access our wealth of additional self-defense law content, including videos, blog posts, and our members-only Law of Self Defense Podcast.
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Remember:
And that is it for me today. As always, folks, as I sign off, I urge all of you to keep in mind:
You carry a gun so you’re hard to kill.
Know the law so you’re hard to convict.
Stay safe!
–Andrew
Attorney Andrew F. Branca
Law of Self Defense LLC
Law of Self Defense Platinum Protection Program
Live in Forest Lake MN near Minneapolis. Heard someone say the officers had been trying to get this guy into the squad for 10 minutes before this. Officers were probably tired and had lost patience with the situation. The officers ignored the mans protestations because most suspects complain about being manhandled. However, there were 4 officers and 1 man. They got careless. Looks like involuntary manslaughter to me. These officers will be lucky if all they get, is fired.
Floyd is down on the ground – face to the ground. Also, I understand his hands are handcuffed behind his back. Officer who looks like a big guy is on top of Floyd. Other officers are right there to assist in restraining Floyd if necessary. With Floyd handcuffed on the ground Is there an imminent threat here? Office putting his knee on Floyd’s neck seems like excessive use of force and unnecessary in that situation. While I respect the job that police officers preform, this video is troublesome. Officers have a moral, ethical and lawful responsibility.
One big question I have is, once Floyd was restrained by the neck, why couldn’t another police officer have come in and sat on his back, or do something else that would likely have been safer than keeping a knee on the neck? (I understand full well that saying “safer” is a little bit of a misnomer, because (1) I can imagine situations where someone *can’t* be restrained by being sat on like that, and (2) I also understand that people *can* die by having someone sitting on their chest or back.)
This video is indeed troubling, though: even with resisting arrest (which I agree is what is likely what caused Floyd to be in that position), I find it very difficult to imagine why you’d keep a knee on Floyd’s neck after he lost consciousness.
Right now, my “needle of justice” pointed to “manslaughter”, but perhaps, as new facts trickle in, I’ll have a change of heart…but at this point I can just as easily see the needle jump to either “exonerate” or “murder” as I can see it stay on “manslaughter”….
The comments in video ALONE are worth 33 cents a day, folks! XD “The look on the officer’s face said it was murder.” Oy.
It can be surprisingly difficult, even for multiple cops, to control a large suspect who doesn’t want to cooperate. In Omaha, Nebraska, a meth addict committed a serious of violent convenience store robberies. Three Omaha cops caught up with him at a gas station and tried to take him into custody. They needed help from a husky young civilian to complete the arrest. In my opinion, the critical factor was that the civilian had been a wrestler in high school. He had grappling skills the officers lacked.
What bothers me about the Floyd incident is that, when Floyd lost consciousness, the officers failed to switch from arrest mode to first aid mode. Once a suspect is taken into custody, his welfare becomes the responsibility of the arresting officers. They failed in that responsibility.
Here is an example of how the media slants their reporting against police and 2A self-defense.
https://nypost.com/2020/05/28/cop-in-george-floyds-death-was-the-subject-of-10-complaints/
If one reads the article, one will find that NONE of the complaints resulted in any form of discipline. The most serious charge was using demeaning language. And one incident resulted a medal of valor. The media has no idea that they are responsible for much of the racial discord in this country.
Let me respectfully suggest that this post comes at the wrong time, wrong place, wrong incident. The video needs no reporter’s words or commentary. The grotesqueness of the incident stands alone. Those who support law enforcement and the appropriate use of force should not, cannot mitigate the obscenity of this officer’s behavior. As a responsible gun owner, I support law enforcement, the appropriate use of force and the rule of law.
By that standard, we should just get a rope and hang Chauvin from the nearest tree.
Why do we not do that? For purposes of having a trial for merely theatrical purposes?
–Andrew
Attorney Andrew F. Branca
Law of Self Defense LLC
As I ended my statement, I’m for the rule of law, which includes a trial. A trial that will undoubtably focus on the video as a part of the evidence. And so, I’m not for getting a rope and vigilante “justice,” nor am I for the mob turmoil as evidenced on our television scenes – although some look guilty of looting and such. Of course those in the mob are innocent until proven guilty as well.
The folly in your reasoning is the autopsy has already determined that Floyd was never suffocated or choked in any way. He died of drug intoxication and heart disease. This is plainly stated in the final paragraph of the felony complaint. You are upset about something that the evidence has already shown never happened.
DNPIERCY has it.
–Andrew
Attorney Andrew F. Branca
Law of Self Defense LLC
As Andrew previously pointed out, just like Zimmerman, the narrative at present will likely never be heard or considered at trial. A trial will likely be confined to Floyd’s severe intoxication, the severity of his heart disease, and the reasonableness of the officers application of excited delirium protocol which calls for sustained manual restraint until EMS can arrive and dose Floyd with Ketamine.
Another interesting aspect of the felony complaint to me is that the “I can’t breathe” business began LONG before the officers went hands on. With this fact in mind, in conjunction with the drug intoxication and heart disease, a reasonable argument can be made that Mr. Floyd was already in a lethal cascade before anyone even touched him.
I wonder where, when, or if the officers will the be able to get a fair trial. It will be impossible to get a competent jury that has not been subjected to the false narrative. Even conservative news outlets, politicians, and lawyers are routinely using the term murder when referring to this event. As Andrew mentioned in a different video, once people have and emotional attachment to this narrative, it becomes nearly impossible to change their mind. Authorities always wait for the thorough investigation to be completed and that is way too late to get the correct story out. Push back and keeping the seeds of openness needs to be initiated as soon as possible after the event.
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I’m moving to a more self-defense friendly state because of the fallout from this event.
Its clear to me that the tactics used by the media, (in addition to their usual sub-par reporting on defense cases), and the violent reaction of the looters and rioters has convinced me that being in a large urban center is a large personal security risk. (And this is coming from someone who has lived in cities most of his life.)
I don’t know how you guys feel, but honestly I think the Floyd case is a catalyst. To me, its a warning. A warning of how quickly things can get out of control due to mis-perceptions being amplified by media and the “telephone game” effect of social networks.
I’ve heard all kinds of crazy things on social media about this case, and I’m glad Mr. Branca is here to give us the facts and analysis as he always has.
If you are motivated as I am about changing your locale, I suggest using http://city-data.com/ for research. It has a lot of information to guide a decision to move. Personally I suggest that anyone in a large city consider doing so — the fallout from this isn’t over yet.