John Cornyn: “since the death of George Floyd, the American people have once again been engaged in a passionate discussion about…”

“since the death of George Floyd, the American people have once again been engaged in a passionate discussion about racial injustice, which has sadly existed throughout our Nation's history. In many ways, the killing of George Floyd was the match in the powder barrel. It ignited long-overdue conversations about prejudice and discrimination that still exists in homes, workplaces, and in particular, institutions charged with keeping us safe. There is no question that what happened to George Floyd was a failure of the Minneapolis Police Department. He was killed by police officers as one applied pressure to his neck and three others stood by and did nothing. We are going to leave that to the criminal justice system to make sure that the appropriate people are held accountable, but we are not off the hook. We have a responsibility, and we have experienced enough of these tragedies to know that it is not an isolated event. Black men and women and other minorities across the country have died in custody for doing things that do not warrant the use of deadly force. In the case of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in March, she was asleep in her home when plainclothes officers with a no-knock warrant used a battering ram to enter her apartment shortly after midnight. She was asleep in her apartment, and shortly after midnight--no knock--just a battering ram, and her door is knocked open.…”