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ALTON - The passion of standing up for the killing of a black man - George Floyd - in Minneapolis continued Monday afternoon after a start on Friday afternoon in front of the Donald E. Sandidge Alton Law Enforcement Center. As the day continued, the crowd grew from its 3 p.m. start on Monday.
On May 25, Minneapolis Police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after a deli employee called 911, accusing him of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Seventeen minutes after the first squad car arrived, Floyd was unconscious and pinned beneath an officer showing no life.
Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons said to date with the protests have been completely peaceful.
“We will always defend their right to peacefully protest,” Chief Simmons said. “We will give them any help we can to keep them safe. Alton has shown respect in protesting this situation and we don’t anticipate any problems.”
Chief Simmons said he didn’t anticipate any problems from protests in Alton, but said the police department is well trained on how to handle these types of situations.
In a statement on the Alton Police Department Facebook page, these were the comment by the chief, representing the department about the Floyd situation:
“Words cannot express the feelings we are having this week. We are outraged a man died unnecesarrily. But in these trying times, we are proud of Alton. The conversations that have occurred this week are inspiring to say the least. It is quite clear our officers believe in the equity of ALL Men and women. Our officers appreciate our citizens displaying their right to protest peacefully. We value our community partnerships every day, but especially, now."
On Friday, murder and manslaughter charges were brought against Derek Chauvin, the officer who was viewed pinning Floyd to the ground for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck, even after he lost consciousness. The other three officers - Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao who were observed in the video of the situation, are under investigation.
Chief Simmons summed up the situation with some worthy comments: “Together, we can change the world, but divided we will never make any progress.”
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