Mississippi mayor is blasted for saying George Floyd's arrest was not unreasonable and that 'if you can talk, you can breathe'
- Hal Marx, mayor of Petal, made the remarks in a tweet on Wednesday
- Defended fired Minneapolis cops involved in the death of George Floyd
- 'I didn't see anything unreasonable,' Marx said of video of Floyd's fatal arrest
- Mused that if Floyd could say 'I can't breath,' his airway was unobstructed
Petal, Mississippi Mayor Hal Marx has drawn backlash for his remarks
A mayor in Mississippi has come under fire for his remarks about the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, saying he 'didn't see anything unreasonable' with the arrest.
Hal Marx, mayor of Petal, about 90 miles southeast of Jackson, made the remarks on Twitter Wednesday, but has since deleted the tweets and said that he had been misinterpreted.
'I didn't see anything unreasonable. If you can say you can't breathe, you're breathing,' Marx wrote of Floyd's arrest, captured on bystander video that showed a police officer kneeling on the 46-year-old's neck as he groaned 'I can't breathe.'
Marx continued: 'Most likely that man died of overdose or heart attack. Video doesn't show his resistance that got him in that position. Police being crucified.'
The video shows Floyd going motionless, and first responders found him unresponsive and without a pulse. He was declared dead at a hospital about an hour later, and his cause and manner of death are still pending at the medical examiner's office.
Marx tried to explain that what he meant was no one knows for sure how Floyd died or what the circumstances were before he was pinned to the ground by a Minneapolis police officer.
'I think that people are so quick to judge the police before they have all the facts,' he told the Hattiesburg American.
'I can't say whether a crime was committed or whether they did anything right or wrong, all I'm saying is don't rush to judgment based on what you see in that video.'
His remarks, however, immediately drew strong backlash.
'If you live in the City of Petal, near the Hattiesburg area, your primary goal should be to get Hal Marx out of office IMMEDIATELY,' tweeted author Tyler J. Carter.
Officer Derek Chauvin (pictured) was identified as the officer pinning him down in video footage that was widely shared on Tuesday
Chaos continues: A shirtless man was seen running near a burning building in downtown Minneapolis after a night of unrest and protests over George Floyd's death
Offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts Javon Patterson tweeted, 'You know as a former resident of Petal ... this is truly disturbing to see. To know that a leader of community feels right even posting this.'
Anthony Alford, an outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays and graduate of Petal High School, also responded.
'How could you watch this video and make such an idiot comments,' Alford wrote on Facebook.
The city of Petal released a statement on Facebook on Wednesday saying Marx's comments were 'not representative of all of our city leaders.'
'We understand the frustrations his statements have cause,' the city aldermen wrote. 'Those comments are his personal views and he has the right to share his views on his personal page.'
Speaking to the Hattiesburg American, Marx said that his remarks had been unfairly cast as racist.
'I've seen too many cases before where the police were judged to be guilty in the public's eye but later were found to be not guilty under the law,' he said.
'For sending that, all of a sudden I'm called racist, I need to have a knee put on my neck — all kinds of hateful stuff simply for having an opinion and asking people to get all the facts before they judge.'
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODM2NjU2My9NaXNzaXNzaXBwaS1tYXlvci1ibGFzdGVkLXNheWluZy1HZW9yZ2UtRmxveWRzLWFycmVzdC1ub3QtdW5yZWFzb25hYmxlLmh0bWzSAYABaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHltYWlsLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZS04MzY2NTYzL2FtcC9NaXNzaXNzaXBwaS1tYXlvci1ibGFzdGVkLXNheWluZy1HZW9yZ2UtRmxveWRzLWFycmVzdC1ub3QtdW5yZWFzb25hYmxlLmh0bWw?oc=5
2020-05-28 19:06:53Z
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