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ARLINGTON, VA – On Monday May 25, 2020, 46-year-old George Floyd tragically and unnecessarily lost his life over the allegation that he passed a counterfeit bill. As appropriate steps are taken to ensure the effective and fair administration of justice, several immediate observations must be made regarding the case.
· On behalf of NDAA’s 5,000+ members, we offer our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Floyd’s young daughter, his family, his loved ones and his friends. Every single one of our members has taken an oath to support the United States Constitution and we constantly remind ourselves and those we represent that justice needs to be applied fairly, across the board, without fear or favor and never based on a suspect’s race. When we say that, in fact when we preach that, and then see a helpless black man begging for his life with a knee jammed into his neck by a man who swore he would protect the people of Minneapolis, it sickens us.
· There is no known police technique that any of our members, with literally thousands of years of law enforcement experience, are aware of that justifies Officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee on the throat of Mr. Floyd and ignoring the distress calls from him indicating that he could not breathe.
· Finally, many of our members are experiencing rioting and looting in their communities. NDAA members will zealously protect the right of any citizen to protest. As was noted earlier, we too share the pain and outrage at the death of Mr. Floyd as he should have never lost his life. We condemn the actions of those who defile the memory of Mr. Floyd by committing theft, arson and violence in response to his tragic death. We believe the avenue for justice for Mr. Floyd will be in a Minnesota courtroom and that Mr. Floyd’s ultimate legacy will be a national commitment to improve law enforcement training, our attitudes on race, our selection and retention of police officers and our commitment to the reality, not merely the promise, of equal justice for all.
Formed in 1950, NDAA is the oldest and largest national organization representing state and local prosecutors in the country. With more than 5,000 members representing over two thirds of the state and local prosecutors’ offices, NDAA is recognized as the leading source of national expertise on the prosecution function and is a valuable resource for the media, academia, government, and community leaders. NDAA’s mission is to provide state and local prosecutors with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to ensure that justice is done and that public safety rights are protected.
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