Current:Home > StocksGeorge Floyd's brother says he still has nightmares about his 2020 murder -ValueMetric
George Floyd's brother says he still has nightmares about his 2020 murder
View
Date:2025-04-16 14:14:25
George Floyd's family is still grieving, four years after he was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.
"(It's) absolutely hell," sister-in-law, Keeta Floyd tells CBS News. "They don't realize the things that are going on behind the scenes, for every life that has been lost since the death of George Floyd. It's extremely painful. It's a wound that never heals."
Several members of the Floyd family joined members of the Congressional Black Caucus this week for the reintroduction of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The measure, sponsored by Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, would enact stricter reforms to address police misconduct and strengthen accountability standards.
"We want this law to be passed, period," Floyd's brother, Philonise, told CBS News. "We've been fighting for this same law for 2020 since my brother was murdered. The day after the funeral, I had come here to speak to Congress. Nothing has been passed. Every time you look up, they say 'Oh, we're going to do this, we're going to do that.'"
Before Republicans took the majority, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act twice — both times while the House was under Democratic control, in 2020 and 2021. The bill limited qualified immunity for officers, prevented racial profiling and restricted the use of excessive force. It collapsed in the Senate after bipartisan negotiations broke down between New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker and South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott over a proposal to ban chokeholds, no-knock warrants and expand federal data collection efforts.
"We have had bill text that had been supported by the nation's largest police union, by chiefs associations around the country, by civil rights activists and more but in the Senate because of the filibuster, you need 60 votes to pass anything," Booker told CBS News. "And while I am confident we have over 50 votes to pass many common-sense reforms, it is still frustrating to me that we have not been able to do bills that would reflect changes that have been made in red and blue states."
CBS News reached out to Scott's office for comment. Last year, the GOP Senator delivered a lengthy floor speech on police reform after the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who was killed by officers in a Memphis police unit during a traffic stop.
"Politics too often gets in the way of doing what every American knows is common sense," Scott said. "Here we find ourselves again…having the same conversation with no action having happened so far."
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, nearly 400 policing policy bills were enacted last year including measures that address officer training.
"Colorado said that we're going to stop qualified immunity, Connecticut said it, New Mexico said it," Philonise Floyd said of several state laws that have taken effect since his brother's death in 2020. "It's these other states that haven't opened up their eyes and seen what's going on. But what will happen is, once it hits their front door, then they're going to make change, then they're going to say, 'Hey, let's not be reactive. Let's be proactive."
President Biden signed an executive order in 2022 requiring federal law enforcement agencies to implement reforms and incentivize state and local forces to improve policing practices. In a statement, Jackson Lee said Congress must "do it's part."
"While we applaud the administration's efforts, this action is not as permanent or as comprehensive as the reforms we can accomplish through congressional action," Jackson Lee said.
Floyd, 46, was killed after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for over nine minutes as Floyd gasped, "I can't breathe." The incident, captured on video, sparked global protests and a racial reckoning during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Chauvin was convicted and is currently serving a 22 ½ year prison sentence.
Philonise and his wife say he still has nightmares about his brother's murder.
"He's in a mental health crisis himself," Keeta explained. "They don't get to see that, how it tears families apart. They don't get to see that. You know, the world does not see that. And so, we're healing. We're constantly healing."
"I can't talk to my brother," said Philonise, who called George "a beacon of hope."
"All of these families that are standing with us, who don't know, who never had this, they're standing for a reason because they say our fight is your fight," Philonise Floyd said. "George was my brother. Every mother said, 'That was my son.' So if people are standing like that, they're standing for a reason, because they want people to be able to change these laws."
Nikole KillionNikole Killion is a CBS News congressional correspondent based in Washington D.C. As a correspondent, Killion played a key role in the Network's 2020 political and election coverage, reporting from around the country during the final stretch of the campaign and throughout the Biden transition.
TwitterveryGood! (674)
Related
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- To help 2024 voters, Meta says it will begin labeling political ads that use AI-generated imagery
- Timbaland Receives Backlash After Saying Justin Timberlake Should've Put a Muzzle on Britney Spears
- Researchers discover oldest known black hole that existed not long after the Big Bang
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Half the people on the planet eat rice regularly. But is it healthy?
- Pennsylvania voters weigh abortion rights in open state Supreme Court seat
- Nevada judge tosses teachers union-backed petition to put A’s stadium funding on 2024 ballot
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Patrick Dempsey Named People's Sexiest Man Alive 2023
Ranking
- From bitter rivals to Olympic teammates, how Lebron and Steph Curry became friends
- Jewish man dies after altercation at dueling Israel-Hamas war protests in California
- Clerk denies tampering or influencing jury that found Alex Murdaugh guilty of murder
- Why RHOA's Shereé Whitfield Ended Up in a Wheelchair at BravoCon 2023
- RFK Jr. grilled again about moving to California while listing New York address on ballot petition
- Michael Strahan will not return to 'Good Morning America' this week amid 'personal family matters'
- Pregnant Teen Mom Star Kailyn Lowry Teases Sex of Twins
- Arizona woman dead after elk tramples her in Hualapai Mountains, park officials say
Recommendation
Your Wedding Guests Will Thank You if You Get Married at These All-Inclusive Resorts
Biden administration guidance on abortion to save mother’s life argued at appeals court
Migration experts say Italy’s deal to have Albania house asylum-seekers violates international law
WeWork files for bankruptcy years after office-sharing company was valued at $47 billion
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Deion Sanders on play-calling for sliding Colorado football team: 'Let that go man'
Amelia Hamlin Leaves Little to the Imagination With Nipple-Baring Dress at CFDA Awards
Brittany Mahomes Shares Glimpse Into Girls’ Night Out With Taylor Swift