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Orange County sheriff: ‘The death of George Floyd was wrong’

by in News

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes and several other Southern California law enforcement officials issued memos Thursday, May 28, denouncing the actions of four Minneapolis police officers that led to the death of an unarmed African-American man on Memorial Day.

Barnes’s letter was directed toward OCSD staff and posted by the sheriff to social media. It opens with the words, “The death of George Floyd was wrong.”

Floyd was seen in widely circulated cell phone footage with an officer pressing his knee on his neck. The Minnesota man gasped, “I can’t breathe” and cried out for his mother before he became unresponsive and died. He had been detained on suspicion of using counterfeit money.

“Equally troubling was the fact that three officers stood by while their partner acted in a manner that contradicts his sworn commitment to protect and serve,” Barnes said.

The sheriff went on to say that the incident in Minneapolis and others like it erode law enforcement’s trust with the community. He called on his deputies to use “de-escalation strategies,” and adhere to the department’s use of force policies.

The department’s policy manual outlines numerous factors that should be considered in determining whether the use of force is reasonable. They include the seriousness of the crime suspected, the proximity of weapons, the number sheriff’s personnel and suspects present, and the “potential for injury to citizens, members and suspects.”

Deputies do not employ the methods seen in footage of Floyd’s arrest, Barnes said in a Tweet. OCSD policy also explicitly states that the application of the technique commonly referred to as a sleeper hold, which restricts the carotid artery, should “be avoided.”

“However, training and policies are only as good as the people entrusted with carrying them out,” Barnes said. “My expectation of each member of this Department is that you conduct yourself with a high ethical standard and treat each life with value and respect. The badge is tarnished when a peace officer acts outside of their training, violates rights or lets bias cloud their judgment.”

Meanwhile, all four of the officers involved in the detainment of George Floyd have been terminated from the Minneapolis Police Department. Mayor Jacob Frey has called for their arrest in connection with the unarmed black man’s death.

The killing sparked a wave of outrage in Minnesota, where protests devolved into looting and fire. In Los Angeles, demonstrators surrounded an LAPD patrol vehicle and smashed one of its windows.

The leaders of at least three police departments in Southern California responded to the events that unfolded in Minneapolis in memos that were also made public Thursday. They criticized the decisions of officers seen in footage of the incident.

Riverside Police Department Chief Larry Gonzalez called the video “disturbing” and “the result of poor tactics, training and judgement.” Long Beach Police Department Chief Robert Luna said the officers’ response was “directly in conflict with the oath we have taken to protect and serve.”

“Simply stated, the death of George Floyd is a tragedy,” Corona Police Department Chief George Johnstone said.

The publication of Barne’s internal memo came after Orange County residents voiced concerns regarding the use of force to the OCSD, department spokeswoman Carrie Braun said.

“We were getting questions from  the community: ‘Is this going to happen in Orange County?’ ” she said.