Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, appeared yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing on policing and law enforcement accountability.
He told House lawmakers yesterday that his brother “didn’t deserve to die over $20,” and called for police accountability and reform.
Here are some of the key quotes from his testimony:
On police reform: “Make the necessary changes to make law enforcement the solution and not the problem,” he said.
On use of force: “Teach them what necessary force is. Teach them that deadly force should be used rarely and only when life is at risk. George wasn’t hurting anyone that day. He didn’t deserve to die over $20.”
On his brother’s last moments: “He gave the little that he had to help others. He was our gentle giant … I was reminded of that when I watched the video of his murder. He called all the officers ‘sir.’ … The men who took his life, who suffocated him for eight minutes and 46 seconds. He still called them ‘sir’ as he begged for his life.”
On his request to lawmakers: “I’m tired. I’m tired of pain, the pain you feel when you watch something like that.
When you watch your big brother who you looked up to for your whole entire life die, die begging for his mom. I’m here to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired.”
