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Police Chief's Stern Message For Other Cops Over George Floyd's Death Goes Viral

Updated September 6, 2021

A Tennessee police chief has gone viral after sharing his simple, yet firm message for cops all over the country in response to the death of a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd.

Chattanooga Police Department Chief David Roddy penned a particularly powerful tweet in which he condemned the actions of the cop seen kneeling on Floyd's neck in the graphic video of his arrest, and Roddy told anyone who sees no issue with this to turn in their badges.

Warning: this article contains graphic images and sensitive material that may be disturbing to some readers

On May 25, Floyd was pinned face-down on the ground in handcuffs while Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck.

Chauvin remained with his knee against Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. When paramedics arrived, Floyd was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead. Officer Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Footage of the arrest taken by a witness shows Floyd pleading with the officer as he repeatedly says, "Please," "I can't breathe," and "Don't kill me." The video has sparked outrage and inspired riots all across the country.

The Chattanooga police chief sent out the tweet on May 27 and it quickly went viral, spreading all across the social media site.

"There is no need to see more video," Roddy wrote alongside a screenshot from the video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck. "There [is] no need to wait to see how 'it plays out'. There is no need to put a knee on someone's neck for NINE minutes."

"There IS a need to DO something," he continued. "If you wear a badge and you don't have an issue with this...turn it in."

As of writing, Roddy's tweet has received over 650,000 likes and has been retweeted more than 156,000 times.

In the comments, people have praised the police chief for his response to the video and agreed with his sentiments.

"I still don't like cops but I really appreciate this coming from a cop," one user wrote. "I hope you lived up to this sort of attitude your whole career. I want to be a supporter I want to be able to trust."

Another person who happens to be from Roddy's town as well added, "This is my local police chief, a man I’ve [met] on a few occasions and whom I believe to be a good man. Thanks chief, glad [...] to know this is not how we do business in Chattanooga."

h/t: Business Insider

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