On Friday, Governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul released statements on the death of George Floyd, a black Minnesota man who died in police custody on Monday.
“What America witnessed happening to George Floyd in Minneapolis was not, in any true sense of the phrase, law enforcement. It was torture and murder, under color of law,” said AG Kaul. “Justice demands that those involved in this depraved crime be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Governor Tony Evers released a lengthier statement, featured below:
“Earlier this week, another Black life was extinguished before our eyes. His name was George Floyd. He was 46. His life matters and his family deserves justice.
There was no empathy or humanity in his death. This was not an anomaly. We hear the echo of the words of Eric Garner. We relive the pain of the death of Black Wisconsinites like Dontre Hamilton, Ernest Lacy, and Sylville Smith. Frustration and anger about systemic injustices are always justified.
Folks in Wisconsin should be able to protest peacefully and to report on these events without the fear of being unsafe or arrested. And if you’re exercising that right, please wear your masks and keep social distance as best as you can.
We must see the trauma, fear, and exhaustion of being Black in our state and our country. We must offer our empathy, we must offer our support, but most of all we must offer our action. The solution isn’t in one person, it’s in all of us, together. We must confront our comfortability with racism. We must reestablish trust with communities of color. We must be willing to listen, we must be willing to be uncomfortable, we must be willing to do the work.”
Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes also released a statement:
"Like so many other Black lives in this country, George Floyd’s life was stolen from his family and from his community.
Our state is no stranger to this violence. In George Floyd’s death, we remember those Black Wisconsinites who we have lost to systemic racism and police violence.
We must recognize that, especially in our state, acts of systemic violence are happening every day, and they include more than just fatal police violence. The poverty, poor environmental conditions, and inequitable access to health care experienced by Black communities and other communities of color are a form of systemic violence, too.
Those who are protesting this injustice are doing so in order to save this nation, and they should be protected. To see a city burn on the outside is devastating but hardly compares to the implosion brought by systemic inequity and injustice. Like internal bleeding, you may not see it, but the outcome will be catastrophic if left untreated.
People are hurting. People are tired. We are done dying. I am tired of addressing the disregard for Black life in this country.
Those who question the frustration and anger of communities of color must ask themselves why they are not frustrated, why they are not angered by the injustices carried out in their name.
People want to live in a world free of hate. We want decency, true justice, equity, equality, and opportunity. These are all worth fighting for, and as Lieutenant Governor, I remain committed to helping lead that fight.
So to the Wisconsinites and people across the country watching pain unfold in real time, I ask you to not just watch, but to speak out and to act.
The idea that things should be better, not worse, is worth demonstration."
Protests have erupted around the country over Floyd's death. Viral video shows how Derek Chauvin, a now fired Minneapolis police officer, held a knee against Floyd's neck for several minutes, despite pleas from Floyd and bystanders. Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after at a hospital, though EMTs have said he showed no signs of life at the scene.
Protests have taken place in cities around the U.S. On Wednesday, protesters shut down a highway in Los Angeles, and on Thursday, shootings were reported at demonstrations in Denver and Louisville.
Demonstrators have called on Chauvin and other officers involved in Floyd's arrest to face charges in Floyd's death.
WFTS Staff and Scripps National editorial team contributed to this report.
