CARBONDALE — When Father Joseph Brown saw the images of George Floyd, a black man, dying under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer, he was taken back in time.
“When I look at the picture of that police officer deliberately, calmly, professionally killing Mr. Floyd, I immediately see in my mind the great lynching pictures,” Brown, a professor of Africana Studies at Southern Illinois University, said. He recalled images of throngs of white men and women at the turn of the 20th century gathering around the dead bodies of African Americans. Some of those images ended up on postcards sent to family and friends — Brown likened this to an early form of social media.
The big difference now, he said, is that the photos are not being taken by participants wanting to commemorate the event, but by people seeking justice for the dead.
Brown said Floyd's death came as part of a trio — he also pointed to the recent deaths of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County, Georgia.
“In each of these cases the reality of blackness is equal to criminality, suspicion, insecurity and danger,” Brown said.
Floyd died while in police custody Monday after he was arrested following a call reporting alleged forgery. Video footage taken by bystanders shows Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck while Floyd is handcuffed and lying face-down on the ground.
“I can’t breathe,” Floyd is heard saying multiple times in the video from the incident. Chauvin, who had been fired after the incident, was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Three other officers, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, also involved in the incident, were fired.

Brown
Brown is 75 years old and said his father took him, at the age of 7, to the home of the publisher of East St. Louis’ black newspaper. In his yard was a burned cross left by the Ku Klux Klan. This memory sticks with him, and he said he is reminded so often of how far society has come, and yet how stuck in the past it also remains.
“We did change it,” Brown said of the country after the Civil Rights struggle. “But at the same time we were changing this country, other people were saying ... ‘We will resist these changes in any way we can,’” he said.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker addressed Floyd’s death during his daily press briefing Wednesday.
"Being black in America cannot be a death sentence. But it is, in some ways it is," Pritzker said Wednesday during a press conference in East St. Louis. "And it's dangerous to pretend otherwise.”
Pritzker said it is time for reflection and action.
"We as a people have not yet found the humanity to stop these vile, horrid acts from happening, to truly contend with the racism that permeates our society. And then to root it out," Pritzker said.

Grubbs
Carbondale Police Chief Jeff Grubbs said incidents like these prompt conversations at all levels of his department. He said his officers review the department’s use of force policy quarterly, sometimes prompted by these news events.
Grubbs declined to discuss the specifics of Floyd’s death, but did express his dismay over what he saw.
“Obviously what has happened is a tragedy and my hope is that justice in that will prevail,” Grubbs said. “What I saw was a tragedy and it shouldn’t have happened.”
Grubbs also said the character of law enforcement as a whole shouldn’t be judged based on incidents like these.
“It is my hope the profession itself isn’t judged based on the actions of a few bad actors,” he said. He said he is proud of the relationships his department has developed within the Carbondale community.
“We’ve worked hard in our community to have good relationships,” he said. Grubbs pointed to the fact that the entire department was trained in conflict de-escalation before it became a state mandate. He said part of the equation is also “ensuring that we hire good people.”

James R. Black
James R. Black is the chief of police in Crystal Lake and also president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. He sent a public statement condemning Floyd’s death on behalf of the IACP.
“After watching the Minneapolis video depicting the senseless death of George Floyd, I was disgusted and saddened by what I observed. Now more than ever, the need for transparency in policing could not be more evident,” he wrote.
He said he is proud that in 2018, the IACP, with the Illinois NAACP Conference, created and adopted a list of guiding principles for police throughout the state.
“As law enforcement leaders we must have the courage to denounce actions that tear at the very core of these principles, and we must muster the courage to continue to build trust and a collaborative partnership with our communities,” Black wrote.

Scott Martin
Scott Martin is the administrator for the Race Unity Group Facebook group. He said tragedies like the death of George Floyd are moments for white people as a whole to consider the privilege they enjoy and to consider also the inherent biases they have.
“I think that white Americans need to learn to create some empathy for the issues that people of color face,” Martin said.
“As white individuals, many of us have a hard time empathizing with that,” he said. This isn’t an easy conversation to have, Martin admitted.
“It’s not easy changing yourself, but we need to have those conversations,” he said.
“Anyone that feels defensive … really needs to sit and think about their life because we were taught a white supremacy aspect of life,” Martin said.
He said racial bias is not a clear-cut thing. He said the same parent, loved one or teacher who taught lessons that promote white supremacy might also have taught valuable things like the Scout Oath or the Lord’s Prayer. But, this type of analysis is one of the steps in personal growth, Martin said. He admitted his own racial biases and said it’s hard to come to terms with them, but the work is important. The subject, Martin said, is “murky.” Not all who harbor biases or racist notions are inherently bad.
Brown addressed the violence that has erupted in Minneapolis in the wake of Floyd’s death. Brown said he agreed with the premise that looting is not just people running after free stuff, but is a direct response to a society that values material objects often more than human life.
“I agree completely because the police departments are missioned to protect life and property,” Brown said before adding that “most of the people with this behavior were brought here to be property.”
He invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr.
“A riot is the voice of the unheard,” Brown quoted.
How does one move forward in a moment as divided and painful as this? Brown said the first step is not complicated.
“The way forward is to do the most simple thing in the world. If every person you meet, you’d look at them and say, ‘I see you,’” he said.
Brown said that, for Christians, there is one thing in particular that can be done to begin the process of rebuilding and reconnecting with their greater humanity.
“Take God at his word,” he said. He asked that Christians remember what happened to Jesus, who by Christian beliefs was the living incarnate of God himself — the living word of God.
“Look at what they did to God’s word. They choked it to death,” Brown said.
Midwest police, community leaders react to George Floyd's death
Midwest police, community leaders react to George Floyd's death
Mayor Jerome Prince, Gary, Indiana

"Any police officer or public safety official who acts with such reckless disregard for another person's life should be fired and criminally charged. The officers responsible for this senseless act will have their day in court, but the whole incident is disgusting and disheartening."
Decatur Police Chief Jim Getz, Central Illinois

“Police officers have a tough job, and they are highly trained and take their training seriously. But you also have to have compassion and common sense. And, without knowing all the facts, I still can say that having your knee on somebody’s neck for that long period of time is unnecessary. It’s not something we train our officers to do.”
LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd, Northwest Indiana

“While we have not briefed our department about this incident ... our staff is acutely aware of it and we are all in agreement that it was excessive force that was applied to what appeared to be a now a compliant suspect. The actions that we saw appeared to be punitive in nature and we must be very careful to allow our courts to dole out punishment for the actions of a suspect, not our deputies.”
Macon County Sheriff Tony Brown, Central Illinois

“Now I don’t know the full story about what happened in Minnesota, but watching the video of that arrest makes me sick to my stomach that any individual should be treated in such a way.”
Porter County Sheriff Dave Reynolds, Northwest Indiana

“We value the life of every citizen that we serve and take training in physical tactics, communication and de-escalation very seriously. We are constantly striving to provide the citizens of Porter County (with) educated, professional and well-trained police officers that can be trusted and relied on in times of need.”
Decatur NAACP Branch President Jeanelle Norman, Central Illinois

“It is not our role to try to defend what the police may do, but it is our role to inform and make sure the real truth about anything that happened is known throughout the community. I have been pleased with the way our police chief has handled situations and worked with the community here.”
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., Northwest Indiana

"I condemn in the strongest manner the incident involving the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis this week at the hands of the Minneapolis police officers. My review of the video shows a callous disregard by the police officers present for Mr Floyd’s life. It was sickening to watch. It seemed that everyone present, except for the police officers, knew that Mr. Floyd’s life was in danger from the chokehold placed upon him."
"Through proper training, having a diverse police force that reflects the community they serve, and making sure that people are treated and judged by their conduct and not by the color of their skin are all ways to make sure our communities stay safe and that we have good community/police relations."
"I’ve worked hard with the Hammond Police Department to achieve those goals during my time as Hammond’s Mayor. However, we always have room for improvement and are always looking for ways to do so."
Racine Police Chief Art Howell, southern Wisconsin

"As a veteran peace officer and current Chief of Police, today, I join fellow law enforcement leaders across the nation in expressing my extreme outrage regarding the death of Mr. George Floyd ... I call on police leaders near and far to take a stand in condemning this unacceptable behavior, which in turn will reveal our core values and reassure those we serve that the profession we represent is yet honorable."
Winona County Sheriff Ron Ganrude, Minnesota

“I have viewed the video of the incident in Minneapolis involving George Floyd. I was shocked and saddened by what I had witnessed. The Winona County Sheriff’s Office, local law enforcement and I have spent years in trying to form good community relations through various means. Those efforts and positive community relations suffer severe setbacks with incidents like the one I witnessed on the news with George Floyd.
“The actions I witnessed do not reflect the actions of the deputies of Winona County or the vast majority of officers in general in Minnesota. The actions I witnessed make the job of peace officers all that much more difficult,” he said.
Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matt Kelm, Wisconsin

“It’s not a training technique for us. If we had someone in a prone, cuffing position, the knee would be on the back,” Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matt Kelm said. “It would (be on the back) as short of a time as reasonable to get the handcuffs on."
Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk, Wisconsin

“Our officers are taught the correct protocol. A knee in the back or neck, it’s a split-second decision. Here, it was the wrong decision.”
Decatur NAACP Branch President Jeanelle Norman, Central Illinois

“It is not our role to try to defend what the police may do, but it is our role to inform and make sure the real truth about anything that happened is known throughout the community. I have been pleased with the way our police chief has handled situations and worked with the community here.”
Decatur Police Chief Jim Getz, Central Illinois

“Police officers have a tough job and they are highly trained and take their training seriously. But you also have to have compassion and common sense. And, without knowing all the facts, I still can say that having your knee on somebody’s neck for that long period of time is unnecessary. It’s not something we train our officers to do.”
East Chicago Police Deputy Chief Jose Rivera, Northwest Indiana

"As soon as I saw this video, I said 'OK, what are your less lethal options? You have a Taser. You've got mace, a baton.' They had all the tools necessary if he had actively resisted," Rivera said. "But he was handcuffed. He was on the ground. There was no justification for any of this."
Michigan City Police Chief Dion Campbell, Northwest Indiana

"We strive to keep the officer safe, the public safe, while using the least amount of force necessary to stop an offenders actions. Once compliance is obtained, we deescalate the amount of force while remaining committed to safety, he said.
Criminal Defense Lawyer James Dillon, Northwest Indiana

"Nothing about (Floyd's) actions warranted death: Not the crime he was accused of, not his verbal defiance of officers, not his pleas of 'I can’t breathe,' not the color of his skin. We are done dying."
Hobart Police Capt. James Gonzales, Northwest Indiana

"The lamentable actions of these few officers will potentially set law enforcement back several years with regard to trust from the public. In my opinion, 99% of law enforcement officers across the nation come to work everyday to protect our public and our freedoms. It is our duty to continuously monitor and weed out the 1% of officers that could be or are a detriment to our noble profession."
Fitchburg Police Chief Chad Brecklin, Wisconsin

“I have met with (leaders of black communities in Dane County, Wisconsin), and their feelings and words are very powerful. Their perspectives that they’re sharing, you can feel the emotion that is coming from both of them and how significant this incident is to them and the rest of our community.
“I take that feeling very seriously, and what they’ve had to say will continue to resonate with me as I continue to process this entire situation as we get deeper into it and learn more about it.”
Middleton Police Chief Troy Hellenbrand, Wisconsin

“Viewing the video, I had a wide range of emotions: anger, frustration, disappointment, disbelief, sadness. I question again, how did this happen yet again in our country…
“We’ve made a lot of changes locally in law enforcement, taken a look at how we can improve our policies and improve our training to de-escalation, implicit bias training for our staff.”
Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney, Wisconsin

As Mahoney watched the events unfold after the video was released, his thoughts turned to George Floyd's family as well as the impact of Floyd’s slaying on the relationship between the black community and police officers in Dane County.
"The reality is that every incident, like what we saw occur in Minneapolis, chips away at the community trust that law enforcement across Dane County has worked hard to build," he said.
Kristen Roman, president of Dane County Chiefs of Police Association, chief of police, UW-Madison Police Department, Wisconsin

“Regardless of further information that may be discovered in this case, nothing can justify the actions or inactions of these officers.
“And while there were moral and tactical shortcomings here, there exists the added weight in the knowledge that these occurred in the all-too-often context of police victimizing an unarmed person of color – sadly, an unsurprising tragedy.
“The actions of the Minneapolis officers in this incident do not represent the values, policies or training of our law enforcement community in Dane County or the vast majority of the 600,000 or so officers in this country. Simply put, their actions were reprehensible and inexcusable.”
Sun Prairie Police Chief Michael Steffes, Wisconsin

“It was my daughter that first brought this video to my attention and shared with me what was happening in Minneapolis, and I felt a strong range of emotions as I watched this video. I began thinking about George Floyd, who lost his life on Monday, and felt compassion for him and his family and tried to put myself in a position of laying face down on the concrete as you're taking your last breath. I then began thinking about how this incident is going to impact our communities of color -- cause fear and hurt the trust we’ve been striving so long to build.”
Madison Police Chief Victor Wahl

When Wahl saw the video, he felt a range of emotions from disbelief to dismay and anger toward the officers, as well as sorrow toward the loss of life and for George Floyd's family.
"Public trust with law enforcement is very fragile. Nothing can shatter it more than use of force by police. For all of the baby steps we've taken forward, something like this is one leap backward."