‘Dogs get treated better than that!’ George Floyd’s aunt tells RT how viciousness of his murder shocked Americans

The death of George Floyd has opened floodgates of anger and violence that can in part be explained by how traumatizing the video of his arrest was for the millions of people who watched it, his aunt told RT.

Angela Harrelson said she does not condone the looting and rioting that is happening as the US is gripped by protests against police brutality, which the death of her nephew has caused. But she can see why this particular incident in an all-too-long line of killings of black men by white cops in America sparked so much anger.

“The looting, the damage in property – we all know people should not be doing that. I understand the anger and the frustration; I understand the reason they are doing it,” she said.

The reason it takes so long for the people to [calm down] is because they saw this. It’s like they were there. They saw his murder in front of their eyes. You can’t wipe that away from people like that.

Floyd died after a Minnesota police officer pinned him to the ground, putting his knee on the man’s neck. He and his fellow officers ignored Floyd as he was groaning and telling them he couldn’t breathe and was in a lot of pain. Harrelson said the sheer viciousness conveyed by the footage of the incident cannot but touch a person who has “a heart that beats and pumps blood.”

“There were people who told me they wanted to reach through the TV to save him,” she explained.

She is concerned that the four officers involved will not get the punishment she believes they deserve for the death of her nephew. The charges of 3rd degree murder pressed against Derek Chauvin, the individual who put his knee on Floyd’s neck, is “toying with the family,” she said. As a registered nurse and a former military officer, she is certain the three other policemen had to realize what was going on. 

“Justice for George Floyd for them all be convicted of murder,” she said.

Call it for the first time… call it for what it is. That’s murder!

Seeing now the strong and far-reaching reaction to Floyd’s killing and sharing the family tragedy with so many people around the world feels overwhelming, Harrelson said. “I feel it and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.”

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