Two days after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, in police custody on Monday, the University of Minnesota minimized its ties with the Minneapolis Police Department as other universities and scholars expressed grief and outrage at the incident.
In a video that has been widely viewed, Derek Chauvin, a White Minneapolis Police Department officer, is seen pinning Floyd down on a street with a knee on his neck. “I can’t breathe,” Floyd is heard saying in the video. He died later in the hospital. Four Minneapolis police officers were fired after the incident was widely publicized, reported The Washington Post. Thousands of people in Minneapolis have taken to the streets to protest Floyd’s death. As of Thursday afternoon, no charges have been filed in Floyd’s death, reported CNN.
“Our hearts are broken after watching the appalling video capturing the actions of Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers against George Floyd leading to his tragic death,” wrote University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel in a letter. “As a community, we are outraged and grief-stricken. I do not have the words to fully express my pain and anger and I know that many in our community share those feelings, but also fear for their own safety. This will not stand.”
Gabel said the university will now no longer use the services of the police department for concerts, football games, concerts and other large events. Nor will it use the department for specialized services needed during such events, such as K-9 explosive-detection units. The only collaboration with the police department will be for joint patrols and investigations that have a bearing on the safety of the campus community.
Gabel said in her letter that the university community demands “accountability and justice” following the police action.
“We have a responsibility to uphold our values and a duty to honor them,” Gabel wrote in her letter. “Our campuses and facilities are a part of the communities in which they reside. University students, staff, and faculty are day-to-day participants in the life of every community in this state, and we must act when our neighbors are harmed and in pain,” said Gabel.
Regarding the video that captured the incident, the University of St. Thomas, another Minnesota institution, issued a statement saying, “The images we have seen violate all that we know is right.”
