Berkeley Mayor Commemorates Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death

BERKELEY, CA — Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín issued a statement commemorating the death of George Floyd.

Floyd’s death in police custody inspired a national reckoning on racial justice.

A Minneapolis police officer was convicted on murder and manslaughter charges for pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

Arreguín called for systemic police reform and reaffirmed Berkeley's commitment to reforming its policing practices.

“The murder of George Floyd was a horrific example of this nation's collective failure to confront and address the over-policing and excessive use-of-force incidents disproportionately experienced by communities of color,” Arreguín’s statement said.

“During the weeks and months following George Floyd's murder, Berkeley has taken groundbreaking strides to reform our own policing practices to build trust between marginalized communities and law enforcement and reduce disparities in policing outcomes.

“Berkeley’s decisions to end police stops for minor infractions that pose no public safety risk, explore assigning unarmed civilians to enforce traffic codes rather than armed police officers, and have trained crisis-response workers respond to select 911 calls are all aimed at reducing unnecessary — and potentially dangerous — police contacts with the community. I remain steadfast in my support of systemic police reform and committed to ending police violence by supporting interventions that promote the safety of officers and civilians alike."