Feinstein on Death of George Floyd

Washington—Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the death of George Floyd:

“The death of George Floyd is an outrage and never should have happened. My heart and thoughts go out to his friends and family. I believe every good police officer knows what happened was wrong, but there will always be some who refuse to understand. We need to focus on rooting those individuals out so something like this never happens again.

“The protests in Minnesota and across the country show the level of anger and frustration in the country. It reminds us of people like Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Walter Scott in South Carolina, Stephon Clark in California and others. As Minnesota Governor Walz said, the unrest is the product of ‘generations of pain, of anguish.’ I truly hope the violence and destruction we saw last night doesn’t continue; violence won’t help us heal.

“Firing the four officers involved and charging the one who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck to the point of death were important steps. I greatly respect law enforcement officers, but there must always be transparency and accountability.

“Chairman Graham today said there will be a Judiciary Committee hearing to examine Floyd’s death, the broader problem of racism in policing and what more the Department of Justice can do. I look forward to a strong bipartisan effort to take a hard look at the circumstances surrounding police use of force.

“Americans always come together in a crisis, and we should do so now.”

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