Policeman condemns Minneapolis police brutality, calls fellow to stand against injustice
A New York Police Department officer, Arthur Roldan, has called on all the United States Police department officers to join him in condemning the Minneapolis police officers who were involved in the brutality that led to the death of a black American, George Floyd.
He made this call in his recent Facebook post, wherein he said, “I am also a Police Officer that believes in right and wrong. I am not afraid of saying when something is wrong. What happened to George Floyd was wrong. I do not condone those officers’ actions and inactions. I represent courtesy, professionalism and respect!
“Please post a picture of yourself in uniform. The goal is to flood social media with positive photos of officers who care about the community we serve.”
While responding to a Parkchester Times correspondent, Mutiu Olawuyi, in an exclusive interview, he noted that he called his fellow policemen for solidarity against the injustice in order to sensitize the public that as there are few bad American policemen, there are thousands of American cops who spend all their days to protect and defend their various communities.
“We must be able to hold each other accountable. As Law Enforcement we have to take action even when it is difficult. Good cops are the frontline to defending the community from the few bad ones. I want other officers to use their voices and be strong enough to stop something like this from occurring in their presence. Voicing something is wrong and expressing something is not ok can save lives and prevent future injustices,” Officer Roldan noted.
Roldan further said that the act of Derek M. Chauvin, the police officer who caused the death of Floyd, was brutal and intentional.
“It is impossible for a person to kneel on someone’s head/neck area for such an extended period of time and not expect a bad outcome. I believe it was a purposeful and malicious action. I believe he intended to cause physical pain to Mr Floyd,” he said.
While making a forensic analysis of the footages with the correspondent, he also blamed other three officers that were with Chauvin for aiding him in the brutal act.
“It’s a very difficult video to watch. In my opinion there is no justification to have kneeled on a man’s head or neck area for such a long time. Something so simple as one of those co-workers stepping in and saying ‘this is wrong’ could have saved a life. We have to be unafraid and vocal when we see something wrong,” Roldan added.
He therefore urged his colleagues in uniform to learn to always hold each other accountable for their actions.
He said, “We have the duty to hold each other accountable for our actions. We are literally the front line of prevention. If just one officer on that scene decided to do something, this could have been prevented.”
“I feel the firing of those involved was justified and I’m sure this will end criminally after the completion of the investigation,” Roldan concluded.