Obama on death of George Floyd: ‘This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America’

  (CNN) — Former President Barack Obama on Friday weighed in on the death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody that has sparked protests across the country.

“This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can’t be ‘normal.’ If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better,” Obama said in a statement.

“It will fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death are investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done,” Obama writes.

“But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station — including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day — to work together to create a ‘new normal’ in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts,” he writes.

A video surfaced this week showing Floyd handcuffed and on the ground saying, “I can’t breathe,” as a white police officer holds him down with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death were fired, but Floyd’s family wants them to be charged with murder.