SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
George Floyd's brother Philonise is seen on a TV screen during his speech at the opening of an urgent debate on systemic racism in the United States and beyond at the U.N. Human Rights Council on June 17, 2020 in Geneva. (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
'You Saw My Brother Tortured and Murdered on Camera': Philonise Floyd Demands UN Probe Into Police Violence in America
"You have the power to help us get justice for my brother George Floyd. I am asking you to help him. I am asking you to help me. I am asking you to help us—black people in America."
Jun 17, 2020
The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers last month was a horrific but all too common example of "the way black people are treated by police in America," his younger brother Philonise Floyd said Wednesday in testimony urging the United Nations to launch an independent investigation into U.S. law enforcement violence and abuse.
"My brother, George Floyd, is one of the many black men and women that have been murdered by police in recent years. The sad truth is that the case is not unique."
--Philonise Floyd
"You have the power to help us get justice for my brother George Floyd," Philonise said in remarks played during an emergency U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) hearing. "I am asking you to help him. I am asking you to help me. I am asking you to help us--black people in America."
As Common Dreams reported Monday, the U.N. agreed to hold the hearing on police brutality and racial injustice at the urging of a group of African nations that is also lobbying the U.N. to investigate law enforcement violence in the United States.
Philonise told the UNHRC that "the officers showed no mercy, no humanity, and tortured my brother to death in the middle of the street in Minneapolis and with a crowd of witnesses watching and begging them to stop."
Watch Philonise's full testimony:
If not for the video of the May 25 killing and the mass protests that followed, Philonise said, none of the officers would have been arrested for their actions.
Derek Chauvin, the now-former Minneapolis officer who drove his knee into Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. More than a week after the incident, the other three officers on the scene of Floyd's killing were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
"My brother, George Floyd, is one of many black men and women that have been murdered by police in recent years," Philonise said. "The sad truth is that his case is not unique. The way you saw my brother tortured and murdered on camera is the way black people are treated by police in America. You watched my brother die."
Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU's Human Rights Program, said in a statement ahead of Philonise's testimony Wednesday that the U.N. "cannot allow the United States to escape international scrutiny for its oppression of Black people."
"The country must be held accountable and subject to independent investigation for its human rights violations," said Dakwar, "including the police killings of Black people and state-sanctioned violence against protesters and journalists."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers last month was a horrific but all too common example of "the way black people are treated by police in America," his younger brother Philonise Floyd said Wednesday in testimony urging the United Nations to launch an independent investigation into U.S. law enforcement violence and abuse.
"My brother, George Floyd, is one of the many black men and women that have been murdered by police in recent years. The sad truth is that the case is not unique."
--Philonise Floyd
"You have the power to help us get justice for my brother George Floyd," Philonise said in remarks played during an emergency U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) hearing. "I am asking you to help him. I am asking you to help me. I am asking you to help us--black people in America."
As Common Dreams reported Monday, the U.N. agreed to hold the hearing on police brutality and racial injustice at the urging of a group of African nations that is also lobbying the U.N. to investigate law enforcement violence in the United States.
Philonise told the UNHRC that "the officers showed no mercy, no humanity, and tortured my brother to death in the middle of the street in Minneapolis and with a crowd of witnesses watching and begging them to stop."
Watch Philonise's full testimony:
If not for the video of the May 25 killing and the mass protests that followed, Philonise said, none of the officers would have been arrested for their actions.
Derek Chauvin, the now-former Minneapolis officer who drove his knee into Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. More than a week after the incident, the other three officers on the scene of Floyd's killing were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
"My brother, George Floyd, is one of many black men and women that have been murdered by police in recent years," Philonise said. "The sad truth is that his case is not unique. The way you saw my brother tortured and murdered on camera is the way black people are treated by police in America. You watched my brother die."
Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU's Human Rights Program, said in a statement ahead of Philonise's testimony Wednesday that the U.N. "cannot allow the United States to escape international scrutiny for its oppression of Black people."
"The country must be held accountable and subject to independent investigation for its human rights violations," said Dakwar, "including the police killings of Black people and state-sanctioned violence against protesters and journalists."
The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers last month was a horrific but all too common example of "the way black people are treated by police in America," his younger brother Philonise Floyd said Wednesday in testimony urging the United Nations to launch an independent investigation into U.S. law enforcement violence and abuse.
"My brother, George Floyd, is one of the many black men and women that have been murdered by police in recent years. The sad truth is that the case is not unique."
--Philonise Floyd
"You have the power to help us get justice for my brother George Floyd," Philonise said in remarks played during an emergency U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) hearing. "I am asking you to help him. I am asking you to help me. I am asking you to help us--black people in America."
As Common Dreams reported Monday, the U.N. agreed to hold the hearing on police brutality and racial injustice at the urging of a group of African nations that is also lobbying the U.N. to investigate law enforcement violence in the United States.
Philonise told the UNHRC that "the officers showed no mercy, no humanity, and tortured my brother to death in the middle of the street in Minneapolis and with a crowd of witnesses watching and begging them to stop."
Watch Philonise's full testimony:
If not for the video of the May 25 killing and the mass protests that followed, Philonise said, none of the officers would have been arrested for their actions.
Derek Chauvin, the now-former Minneapolis officer who drove his knee into Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. More than a week after the incident, the other three officers on the scene of Floyd's killing were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
"My brother, George Floyd, is one of many black men and women that have been murdered by police in recent years," Philonise said. "The sad truth is that his case is not unique. The way you saw my brother tortured and murdered on camera is the way black people are treated by police in America. You watched my brother die."
Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU's Human Rights Program, said in a statement ahead of Philonise's testimony Wednesday that the U.N. "cannot allow the United States to escape international scrutiny for its oppression of Black people."
"The country must be held accountable and subject to independent investigation for its human rights violations," said Dakwar, "including the police killings of Black people and state-sanctioned violence against protesters and journalists."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.