The Better Collective's Official Statement on the Murder of George Floyd

The recent murder of George Floyd has hit headlines. Reported to 911 for illegally using counterfeit currency, Derek Chauvin, a white police officer from Minneapolis, and his team, consisting of Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Keung, and Tou Thao, were assigned as the team to handle the case. 

A video streamed on Facebook Live showed Floyd pinned down to the ground, Chauvin kneeling on the man’s neck. The video showed Floyd begging, “Don’t kill me,” to Chauvin. Bystanders have coaxed the officer to letting Floyd breathe, but in response, the officers have said that Floyd was “talking,” and that “he’s fine.” 

The video records a bystander saying, “You could have put him in the car by now. He's not resisting arrest or nothing. You're enjoying it. Look at you. Your body language." Eventually Floyd grows motionless and unresponsive. Bystanders have asked the police to check Floyd’s pulse. 

“Did they fucking kill him?” was the chilling question of one of the bystanders present. Chauvin did not remove his knee until emergency medical services arrived. Floyd was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

According to the video, Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for at least seven minutes, including the four minutes when Floyd when unconscious. 

While the Better Collective is an organisation that operates outside of and is composed of members who are not residents of the United States, we must speak out and act out against the injustice that has blatantly made itself known today and everyday, whether it be on the streets, in the workplace, or in our own upbringing. 

The Better Collective is, and will always be, vocally against any sort of racism, bigotry, corruption, and prejudiced hatred, and we are always ready to lend our voice to those who need to be heard. 

We condemn the actions of officers Chauvin, Lane, Keung, and Thao, and fully support Floyd’s family in their petition to file murder charges against them.

We stand with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others like them who have been—and continue to be—victims of racial abuse and injustice. 

Here at TBC, we choose to be better everyday. Choosing to be better is choosing empathy. Choosing to be better is choosing integrity. Choosing to be better is choosing justice. 

If you are a citizen of the US, call the following hotlines and make your voice be heard. 

Call Minnesota Governor Walz at  (651) 201-3400.
Call Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison at (651) 296-3353.

For more ways to help, visit this Twitter thread of options compiled by user @tpwkhollands.

You can provide monetary support the family of George Floyd on their official GoFundMe page.

You can provide monetary support to the GoFundMe for the legal aid of Minnesota protesters. 

You can provide monetary support to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

Stay informed: 

A “thread of black documentaries that assist in understanding racism, prejudice, police brutality, and more.”

CNN Edition's live updates page regarding the George Floyd case.

Black Lives Matters’ official website.

Update: This post was edited to correct minor grammatical errors and to add the Minnesota Freedom Fund website.