Darnella Frazier, the young woman who was 17 years old when she filmed on her cell phone Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers arrest and subsequently murder George Floyd, issued her first public statement about the tragic incident she witnessed on the year anniversary of Floyd’s death.
Frazier, who offered her testimony at Chauvin’s trial along with her video footage, helped lead to his conviction on all counts of second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter, posted to her Facebook page yesterday:
In addition to expressing how witnessing such an atrocity and abuse of power has affected her, Frazier speaks on the value of George Floyd’s life, and what needs to change in policing and in society to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again:
My video didn’t save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets. You can view George Floyd anyway you choose to view him, despite his past, because don’t we all have one? He was a loved one, someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s brother, and someone’s friend. We the people won’t take the blame, you won’t keep pointing fingers at us as if it’s our fault, as if we are criminals. I don’t think people understand how serious death is…that person is never coming back.
These officers shouldn’t get to decide if someone gets to live or not. It’s time these officers start getting held accountable. Murdering people and abusing your power while doing it is not doing your job. It shouldn’t have to take people to actually go through something to understand it’s not ok. It’s called having a heart and understanding right from wrong.
Continued praise and strength to this young woman who acted extraordinarily in extraordinary and horrifying circumstances.
To read her statement in its entirety, click above on the link to Frazier’s Facebook post or read it below:
