Families Impacted by Police Violence Condemn GOP's Moment of Silence for Derek Chauvin
- Rebecca Gilbuena
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Family members of people killed by police gathered Thursday to denounce a recent moment of silence for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin at the Minnesota Republican Party convention, calling the gesture disrespectful, retraumatizing and an insult to those still seeking justice.
"This was very hurtful," said Toshira Garroway of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. "We have to understand the trauma, we have to understand the pain that is in our communities right now."
Standing alongside relatives of George Floyd, Philando Castile and others killed by police, Garroway said the tribute sent a troubling message about whose lives are valued.
"I've never seen a moment of silence be held for a human being that's alive," she said. "That respect and that honor deserves to be with the person that lost his life unjustly. But the proof is in the pudding. We are being shown whose life matters. We are being shown how much our lives are valued."
George Floyd's longtime partner, Courteney Ross, became emotional as she addressed convention attendees directly.
"These are tears of outrage. These are tears of being tired. These are tears of pure disgust by what happened this weekend," Ross said.
She urged Republicans who opposed the tribute to publicly speak out.
"I heard that there were those at the convention that did not agree with the moment of silence," Ross said. "It is your time to speak up. It is your time to do the right thing. Hold the other Republicans that did this horrific act accountable. You are public servants. Hold them accountable for their cruel actions."
Valerie Castile, whose son Philando Castile was killed by a St. Anthony police officer in 2016, said she initially assumed the announcement meant Chauvin had died.
"When I found out he wasn't dead, that was the most hurtful thing that you can do," Castile said. "These are the people that we put in place to make our laws for the greater good. Now you take that opportunity and give a moment of silence to a murderer."
Castile connected the incident to ongoing fights for police accountability legislation.
"No wonder we can't get progressive policy changes," she said. "No wonder none of our bills pass that we need in our communities. Because we're dealing with people like that."
Jae Yates of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) argued that the tribute reflected a broader failure to confront police violence and racial injustice.
"I want to say first that Derek Chauvin is not just a murderer. He's a torturer. He tortured George Floyd for 9.5 minutes while people in the community watched and were helpless to do anything," said Yates. "As for the GOP, I have to say, I am not shocked, nor disappointed, nor surprised by this behavior, because people who can watch children get separated from their parents in detention centers, screaming and crying while they're dragged out of their homes... People who can watch Black people get murdered at two times the rate by police in this city and do absolutely nothing about it, do not have a moral compass. And we should not allow them to have power over our lives."Â
TCC4J is pushing for an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Commission (CPAC) with authority over police leadership decisions. The coalition is petitioning to have CPAC on the ballot in November for Minneapolis residents.Â
The gathering concluded with Garroway leading a moment of silence for George Floyd and others who have died unjustly, including Black, Indigenous and poor community members whose lives were lost to police violence.