'Stop the Pain,' George Floyd's Brother Tells Congress

Committee considering police legislation hears testimony from Philonise Floyd
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 10, 2020 6:24 PM CDT
George Floyd's Brother Asks Congress to 'Make It Stop'
Philonise Floyd, a brother of George Floyd, describes the pain of losing his brother as he testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday at the Capitol.   (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

A day after his older brother's funeral, Philonise Floyd told a hushed House Judiciary Committee in Washington that he's weary. "I'm tired of the pain I'm feeling now, and I'm tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason," Floyd said. "I'm here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain." Taking action now could stop his brother George from being just "another name" among the unarmed black people killed by police, he said. House Democrats have proposed legislation to curb protections for officers accused of misconduct and stop the excessive use of force by police, the Guardian reports. Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler has said the goal is a "guardian–not warrior–model of policing."

Nadler, a Democrat, told Floyd that his brother "is not just a name chanted in the street," per CBS. Rep. Jim Jordan, the panel's top Republican, told Floyd his brother's death was "as wrong as wrong could be" but said the "vast majority" of law enforcement officers are good people. He called defunding police departments, which many people—though not those in Congress—are advocating "absolute insanity." Floyd broke down in tears during the hearing as a video played of his brother dying in Minneapolis police custody. "If his death ends up changing the world for the better, and I think it will, then he died as he lived," Philonise Floyd told the lawmakers. "It is on you to make sure his death isn't in vain." (More George Floyd stories.)

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