Gov. Tony Evers is joining other state and local leaders in speaking on the death of George Floyd, a man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
“Earlier this week, another Black life was extinguished before our eyes. His name was George Floyd. He was 46. His life matters and his family deserves justice. There was no empathy or humanity in his death," said Evers in a statement. "This was not an anomaly. We hear the echo of the words of Eric Garner. We relive the pain of the death of Black Wisconsinites like Dontre Hamilton, Ernest Lacy, and Sylville Smith. Frustration and anger about systemic injustices are always justified."
As protests take place in several parts of the country, and even in Milwaukee, Evers reminds everyone to wear masks and keep socially distant.
"Folks in Wisconsin should be able to protest peacefully and to report on these events without the fear of being unsafe or arrested. And if you’re exercising that right, please wear your masks and keep social distance as best as you can. We must see the trauma, fear, and exhaustion of being Black in our state and our country. We must offer our empathy, we must offer our support, but most of all we must offer our action. The solution isn’t in one person, it’s in all of us, together. We must confront our comfortability with racism. We must reestablish trust with communities of color. We must be willing to listen, we must be willing to be uncomfortable, we must be willing to do the work.”
Attoney General Josh Kaul also released a statement on the matter, saying that the officers connected to Floyd's death should be prosecuted.
"What America witnessed happening to George Floyd in Minneapolis was not, in any true sense of the phrase, law enforcement. It was torture and murder, under color of law,” said Kaul. “Justice demands that those involved in this depraved crime be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
A "Justice for George Floyd" rally is scheduled to take place Friday in Milwaukee at 1 p.m. in front of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society.
