What Can Be Said About the Tragic Death of George Floyd?

Videos shared on social media capturing the May 25, 2020 arrest of Minneapolis resident George Floyd are most unsettling.¹ Law enforcement officers had him handcuffed and pinned facedown upon the ground, one of them pressing his knee upon Floyd’s neck. Floyd cried, “I can’t breathe!” He passed out, paramedics took him to the hospital, there he was pronounced dead. Floyd was being arrested on the suspicion of passing on a counterfeit $20 bill.

Many have joined in non-violent protest over Floyd’s death, albeit incidents of rioting and looting have been occurring too. The four arresting officers were subsequently fired.² The officer who pressed his knee upon Floyd’s neck, Derek Chauvin, was charged with third-degree murder.³

There is another story about George Floyd that one never really sees in the arrest videos. Kate Shellnut in Christianity Today described Floyd as a man who left a Gospel legacy. Prior to relocating to Minneapolis, Floyd lived in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. He brought outside ministries inside the area to do discipleship and outreach. Those in the Third Ward knew him as “Big Floyd” and he was considered a “man of peace” and “gentle giant.”⁴

Here is what so tragic about this situation: George Floyd is a man created in the image of God ⁵ and the taking of his life by the police officers is the ultimate defilement that inherent dignity and worth of the one created in God’s image.

The white police officer’s mistreatment of the black arrestee invokes questions on whether or not certain preconceived notions influenced the tragic outcome. It is beyond anyone’s ken to judge the hearts of the four officers on this matter. On the other hand, generally speaking everyone is prone to make erroneous judgments based upon erroneous perceptions. A Divine Counselor is even needed to assist us in seeing things clearly. The prophet Samuel tells us: “The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).⁶ Moreover, dividing humanity into groups, ranking them according to arbitrary standard of superiority, and systematically attempting to segregate or eradicate the lesser groups is another way the image of God is desecrated. Racism or any other permutation of hate is antithetical to Christianity.

God has also come to redeem the creatures made in His image. To the church at Galatia, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:26-29). If there is any implication to the biblical concept of justification by faith, it is the realization that all people groups, regardless of social status, of either gender are welcomed into the family of God. All this is part of the ancient promise made to Abraham. They are righteous by the blood of the Lamb.

The commandment to love others (Matt. 19:19), even foes (Matt. 5:44), being second in importance only to loving God (Matt. 22:37-40) precludes mistreatment, violence, and slaughter of those outside one’s tribal, national or ethnic bubble.

Most police officers are of the finest quality when it comes to fulfilling their duty, but there can still be a bad egg in the bunch. Those who mistreated Floyd can be counted as part of that bad egg. Not every police officer is out to do harm to blacks and others, but we should never turn a blind eye to those that do, and those who do wrong are to be kept accountable.

What is the way to respond to Floyd’s tragic death? “I understand the anger, disillusionment, despair, outrage and grief. I understand it because I feel it too,” says Pastor Claude Alexander of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, who goes on to explain , “I am a black man who knows that every day that I am one drive away, one jog away, one police stop away, one false accusation away from death.” To those using the occasion to riot and loot, Pastor Alexander gives this admonition, “Your anger is no excuse, no license to destroy anybody’s property and increase the misery index. It is no excuse to destroy a Walmart, a CVS, a Target, a Food Lion, in your own neighborhood and rob those who work there of gainful employment. It gives you no right to invade a police officer’s space and hurl insults and curse them and taunt them.”⁷

Appalling, disturbing, evil, heartbreaking, horrifying, inhumane, sad, shocking, sickening, vile are words that can describe the way George Floyd’s life was cut short by the excessive force of police officers. “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10).

— WGN

1. Dalton Bennett, Joyce Lee and Sarah Cahlan, “The death of George Floyd: What video and other records show about his final minutes” Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/30/video-timeline-george-floyd-death/?arc404=true
2. “4 Minneapolis police officers fired following death of George Floyd in police custody,” Fox 9 https://www.fox9.com/news/4-minneapolis-police-officers-fired-following-death-of-george-floyd-in-police-custody
3. “Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin charged with murder, manslaughter in George Floyd’s death,” Q13 Fox, https://q13fox.com/2020/05/29/ex-minneapolis-police-officer-derek-chauvin-charged-with-murder-manslaughter-in-george-floyds-death/
4. Kate Shellnutt, “George Floyd Left a Gospel Legacy in Houston,” https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/may/george-floyd-ministry-houston-third-ward-church.html
5. There is dignity and worth in each person because they are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). The image of God is defaced by sin but it is not erased.
6. All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
7. Donovan Thomas, “Charlotte black clergy understand anger about George Floyd, but preach peace and solidarity,” Charlotte Observer, https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article243136806.html