A police chief in Tennessee said on Wednesday that officers who “don’t have an issue” with the arrest of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died earlier this week after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground by kneeling on his neck, should turn over their badges.
“There is no need to see more video,” Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy tweeted on Wednesday. “There no need to wait to see how ‘it plays out.’ There is no need to put a knee on someone’s neck for NINE minutes. There IS a need to DO something.
“If you wear a badge and you don’t have an issue with this…turn it in,” he continued.
The tweet by Roddy has racked up more than 489,000 likes and over 117,000 retweets in less than a day as news and reactions surrounding the death of Floyd have continued to dominate social media over the past few days.
Floyd, 46, died on Monday at a local hospital. His death came after he was apprehended by police in Minneapolis earlier in the day. In footage of the arrest, an officer can be seen pinning Floyd to the ground and kneeling on his neck as Floyd could be heard saying, “I can’t breathe.”
Video of the arrest and news of Floyd’s subsequent death have prompted condemnation from many lawmakers, celebrities and thousands on social media.