Protesters kneel to protest police brutality and the death of George Floyd.
Washington:
While the demonstrators implored the black American secret service officer to kneel in solidarity with their demonstration against racism and brutality by the police, the young man explained why he could not.
“I appreciate all of this. … I’m still black. See what I’m saying? Are you still fighting for my rights,” the unidentified officer told protesters through a fence outside the building from the Treasury in Washington. “What I’m saying is that technically we can’t do that.”
Saturday’s interaction, recorded by Reuters TV, occurred during the largest rally in the US capital, when tens of thousands of people died on May 25 in George’s Minneapolis police custody Floyd, an unarmed black man.
From federal law enforcement agencies to small town municipal police forces, African American officers have had to work on the front lines of numerous protests seen in the past 13 days in American cities and small communities across the country.
Some of those protesting outside the Treasury Department next to the White House said they sympathized with the officer’s plight.
“I am a soldier. And when you are in uniform, you can and cannot do certain things,” said one protester to the crowd. Another punched the officer through the fence.
Others chanted, “Take the knee. Do it. Do it. Take the knee. Take the knee. Take it.”
They cheered when a black Secret Service woman stepped forward and knelt briefly.
A third black secret service officer told mostly African-American protesters that he respected their motivation to protest.
“I started this job because of my childhood in Georgia. What I had to see, the stories I had to hear from my parents,” said the third officer. “But also I’m talking to you as another black man just to say, it’s something that encourages me. And just as you are there for me, consider what I am doing here, for you.
Protesters across the country seek to transform the purpose of the protests into a broader quest for reform of the United States criminal justice system and its treatment of minorities.
In a passionate speech last week, Catrina Thompson, police chief of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told protesters that the actions of those accused of Floyd’s death did not represent the majority of American police.
As the mother of an autistic black teenager “who may not be able to respond to an officer telling her to raise my hands,” she said, “I would not stand here in this position and in any way, shape or form of support anyone in our organization if I thought it would hurt my son or any of you. “
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
