Calling it “a murder that happened in broad daylight over ten minutes,” President Joe Biden said that the guilty verdicts against the former police officer in the murder of George Floyd is just one step in holding people accountable for their actions and rebuilding public trust in law enforcement, commenting “Systemic racism is a stain on our nation’s soul.”
Biden called on Congress to enact meaningful police reform including provisions to address systemic misconduct, called the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, introduced by his now-Vice President Kamala Harris, the first elected woman of color in the Executive Branch.
Biden pointed out that the courage of people in the case, from Darnella Frazier who recorded Floyd’s death, to the Minneapolis police officers who testified against Chauvin, to the jury who took a stand for justice.
Recalling a conversation he had with Floyd’s young daughter on the day of his funeral, Biden remembered her saying “Daddy changed the world.” “Daddy did change the world,” Biden commented. “Let that be his legacy.”
Biden noted that people who will leverage the verdict to undertake violence, either through rioting or through racial rhetoric, saying that Americans need to use this opportunity to show them that Americans are better. “We can never be any safe harbor for hate in America.”
Biden also noted that he has two nominees to the Justice Department, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke, whose nominations are being held up in the Senate, calling them “eminently qualified” to work on civil rights issues facing federal law enforcement.