The mayor of Los Angeles is being pressed by the public to take action against the police chief who placed the blame of the riots into the hands of the protesters. It began during a press conference when Michel Moore said that George Floyd’s death was equally “on the hands” of looters as much as it is on the police officers who killed Floyd.
“We didn’t have protests last night. We had criminal acts,” Moore said. “We didn’t have people mourning the death of this man, George Floyd. We had people capitalizing. His death is on their hands, as much as it is those officers.”
With over 700 people arrested in the midst of the protests, there were around 10 percent of them actually connected to burglary or looting, per Newsweek.
Though Moore attempted to backtrack on the comments by saying that Floyd’s death was “at the hands of a police officer and officers who stood by,” it wasn’t enough for people to urge the mayor to fire Floyd.
“The responsibility for George Floyd’s death rests solely with the police officers involved. Chief Moore regrets the words he chose this evening and has clarified them,” the mayor wrote.
“I misspoke when I said his blood is on their hands, but certainly their actions do not serve the enormity of his loss and cannot be in his memory,” Moore stated. “I regret the remarks of that characterization, but I don’t regret and nor will I apologize to those who are out there today committing violence, destroying lives and livelihoods and creating this destruction.”
If you’re looking for more information to help the Black Lives Matter movement and protesters, we’ve compiled a list of resources and petitions here.