MILWAUKEE — Wednesday marked George Floyd's birthday. He would have turned 47 years old.
Ben Crump, the Floyd family attorney, also represents the families of men killed or injured by police here in southeastern Wisconsin, spoke with TMJ4 News about those cases as well as George Floyd.
“It just seems to be a continuation of the pattern of justifying the extrajudicial killings,” Crump said.
Crump’s law firm is involved in several high-profile cases such as Floyd's in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor's in Louisville and Jacob Blake's in Kenosha.
“At this point, whether it’s Milwaukee or Kenosha, people are crying out for justice,” Crump said.
Crump gave TMJ4 News an update on his client’s condition. Blake was shot seven times by Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey during a domestic call Aug. 23.
Crump said Blake is recovering, but that road has come with serious challenges along the way, including two serious infections following the shooting.
“Unfortunately, he has had some setbacks where he has had to be hospitalized,” Crump said.
Crump also represents the family of Milwaukee's Joel Acevedo, who was killed by former Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli during a party in April. Crump says they are still working to get body camera video from responding officers.
“Normally when you have a person of color who committed alleged illegal conduct. They release that quick and still continue on with the criminal prosecution. But when police kill a person of color, they just change the rules, arbitrarily,” Crump said.
Crump said on George Floyd's birthday, people across the world should spend time thinking of ways to make the world a better place for everyone.
As we come up on nearly two months since the Jacob Blake shooting, Crump said he expects a decision on whether criminal charges will be filed to come sooner, rather than later.
