George Floyd's Brother Delivers an Important Message to Rioters
George Floyd’s brother Sunday told rioters causing destruction in the name of his brother to stop it.
Floyd, 46, died May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
On Tuesday, a protest in Minneapolis over Floyd’s death that began as a march against police brutality turned into a riot that led to arson and looting. Since then, similar riots have taken place across America from Albany, New York, to Eugene, Oregon.
Terrence Floyd said rioters are doing the wrong thing.
“Don’t tear up your town. All of this is not necessary because if his own family and blood is not doing it, then why are you?” he said Sunday night during an interview with ABC News.
“If his own family and blood are trying to deal with it and be positive about it, and go another route to seek justice, then why are you out here tearing up your community?” Terrence Floyd said.
“Because when you’re finished and then you turn around and want to go buy something, you done tore it up. So now you messed up your own living arrangements.
“So just relax. Justice will be served.”
Terrence Floyd said he is afraid the message he wants to be sent has been lost in the violence.
“Do something positive. Stop making excuses,” he said. “And that’s what I feel is going on: They’re using this as an excuse to be stupid.”
Terrence Floyd said he is no stranger to anger over his brother’s death.
“I’m outraged too,” he said. “Sometimes I get angry. I want to bust some heads, too. I want to just go crazy.
“My brother wasn’t about that. My brother was about peace. You’ll hear a lot of people saying he was a gentle giant.”
On Friday, fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd’s death.
Terrence Floyd said more charges need to be filed.
“I want to see all of them get punished to the full extent for what they did to my brother,” he said.
“Because when I saw the videos, not only was the dude on his neck … not only that, you got the other three officers that were behind the camera, behind the car on him. So he can’t move,” he said.
In a follow-up interview Monday with “Good Morning America,” Terrence Floyd said his brother “would want us to seek justice” but that protesters should channel their anger “another way,” according to ABC News.
“It’s OK to be angry, but channel your anger to do something positive or make a change another way because we’ve been down this road already,” he said. “The anger, damaging your hometown is not the way he’d want.”
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