George Floyd protest: Houston Police chief asks US President Donald Trump to 'keep his mouth shut' [Watch]
Houston Police chief Art Acevedo has advice for President Donald Trump after his comments to governors following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis.
The police chief’s response came after the US President, who had earlier tweeted “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” asked governors to stand firm against the violent protest which emanated after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody in Minneapolis. The officer has been charged and three others fired.
Largescale demonstrations have raged havoc all over the United States following the death of African American on 25th May, protesters have attacked and vandalised stores as well as police property.
“Let me just say this to the President of the United States, on behalf of the police chiefs of this country: Please, if you don’t have something constructive to say, keep your mouth shut,” Acevedo said while talking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
Donald Trump during a virtual conference with governors on Monday had called them weak for being unable to control the protests, suggesting that they use the National Guard to tower over protesters.
The US President further praised the National Guard response, saying “cut through [protesters] like butter” while calling on state leaders to adopt more brutal tactics to quess the uprisings.
“You have to dominate. If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you. You’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate,” Trump said on the call, according to reports.
Houston Police Chief @ArtAcevedo: “Let me just say this to the President of the United States, on behalf of the police chiefs of this country: please, if you don’t have something constructive to say, keep your mouth shut.” pic.twitter.com/z5AJpOO0RO
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) June 1, 2020
Art Acevedo also accused Donald Trump of putting men and women in the early 20s in grave danger.
“This is not about dominating. It is about winning hearts and minds. And let’s be clear, we do not want to confuse kindness with weakness. We don’t want ignorance to ruin what we have managed to do to restore normalcy,” the Houston Police chief said.
“if you don’t have anything to say, don’t say it,” Acevedo quoted a dialogue from a movie Forest Gump.
“Because that’s the basic tenet of leadership and we need leadership now more than ever.. and it’s time to be presidential and not try to be like on The Apprentice. This is not Hollywood, this is real life and real lives at risk,” he said.
George Floyd, who was handcuffed at the time, died after police officer Derek Chauvin didn’t listen to bystander shouts to get off Floyd and Floyd’s cries that he couldn’t breathe.
The police officer was charged with third-degree murder in Floyd’s death, and three other officers were fired last week.
A video which was making rounds on the internet displayed Chauvin holding his knee on Floyd’s neck despite the man’s cries that he can’t breathe until he eventually died.
A medical examiner on Monday classified Floyd’s death as a homicide, saying his heart stopped as police restrained him and compressed his neck.
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First published: 2 June 2020, 17:38 IST