George Floyd’s uncle spoke out about policing issues in Phoenix, Arizona, saying he thinks the topic is not getting the attention it should.
In a statement broadcast by KNXV-TV, a local ABC affiliate, Roger Floyd, whose nephew would have turned 51 on Monday, discussed the case of Tyron McAlpin.
McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, was arrested on August 19 by Phoenix police. Recently released bodycam footage showed him being punched and tased by officers while lying face-down on the ground, CNN reported.
Floyd said, “Just like in the case of my nephew George, if you will, the world saw what happened to him. That reminded me of his situation when that deaf gentleman was attacked by the police officers. I mean, there was absolutely no means of de-escalation at all.”
Martha Asencio-Rhine/Associated Press
McAlpin, 34, has been charged with resisting arrest and two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, CNN reports. His encounter with Arizona police has sparked widespread outrage on social media, and the incident has been under an internal investigation since August, according to NBC.
It follows the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Phoenix police department in June, which resulted in findings that the department has used excessive force, and disproportionately enforced laws against minorities and homeless people, restricting freedom of speech and expression, and violating constitutional rights.
Newsweek has reached out to the Phoenix Police Department for comment via email outside of business hours.
George Floyd, 46, a black man, was arrested and then murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, and his death sparked outcry globally as people protested police brutality in the US.
Speaking about the response to his nephew’s death, Floyd said, “Initially it made a tremendous difference, especially when the trial was going on. But as time goes on, there are other distractions that come about, and they seem to go back into their old mode of operation, and that’s unfortunately and we see that happen every single day.”
In his push for social equity and police reform, Floyd also emphasized that he wants newly elected officials to bring back the conversation regarding relations between the police and the public.
The Floyd family now runs the Floyd Family Center for Social Equity, a nonprofit aimed at uplifting communities by promoting health, education, finances, scholarship, and the arts, in his memory.
Floyd also said that he hoped lawmakers would re-introduce the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (2021), which focuses on law enforcement accountability and racial profiling by law enforcement officers and was passed in the House but has remained in the Senate since 2021.
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