President of Minneapolis Police Officers Federation Bob Kroll says that people should remember George Floyd’s “violent criminal history”, including a home invasion that involved pointing a gun at a pregnant woman which resulted in five-year prison sentence. Kroll called protests over Floyd’s death the work of a terrorist movement.
“What is not being told is the violent criminal history of George Floyd. The media will not air this,” Kroll wrote in a letter addressed to his members that was published on Twitter on Monday.
Police union President Lt. Bob Kroll, commending officers and blasting the protests in a letter to his membership: pic.twitter.com/nZO8tryeqa
— Libor Jany (@StribJany) June 1, 2020
George Floyd was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 for an assault and robbery committed two years earlier. He was convicted after pleading guilty to entering a pregnant woman’s home and jabbing a gun in her stomach while searching for money and drugs, according to court documents.
According to the court report, the pregnant victim said the largest member of the group, who she identified as Floyd, “forced his way inside the residence, placed a pistol against the complainant’s abdomen, and forced her into the living room area of the residence.”
“This large suspect then proceeded to search the residence while another armed suspect guarded the complainant, who was struck in the head and sides by this second armed suspect with his pistol while she screamed for help.”
Floyd, who was accompanied by five other men, never found any money or drugs, but took jewelry and the victim’s cell phone. A neighbor who observed the robbery occur wrote down the license plate number of the perpetrators.
Even before that, he had been convicted of a range of charges from armed robbery to drug possession, the Daily Mail reported.
“This terrorist movement that is currently occurring was a long time build up which dates back years,” Kroll said in his letter.
According to him, some of the city’s issues exist because Minneapolis leaders “have been minimizing the size of our police force and diverting funds to community activists with an anti-police agenda.”
“Our chief requested 400 more officers and was flatly denied. This is what led to this record-breaking riot,” he added.
“I’ve worked with the four defense attorneys that are representing each of our four terminated individuals under criminal investigation, in addition with our labor attorneys to fight for their jobs. They were terminated without due process,” Kroll wrote.
In his letter, he also explained why the police department was not more vocal in the press. According to him, it would have a negative impact on the work and safety of police officers.
“I’ve been a visible target from the groups conducting this riot, politicians on the left allowing it and encouraging it, and liberal media. My visibility during this time would only increase your danger. I’ve received countless death threats throughout this.“
“We see the heroic work being done. We acknowledge it and commend you for it,” he said, telling his co-workers to stay safe.
Many have pointed to the massive loss in black lives directly due to riots and looting and have asked why David Dorn, the elderly black man and retired St. Louis police captain who was shot and killed on video while protecting his friend’s pawn shop during the riots, has not received nearly the same media attention and support from the Black Lives Matter movement.
Other black males, such as 53-year-old Federal Protective Services officer Dave Patrick Underwood, a federal law enforcement officer who was shot and killed while on duty during riots last Friday in Oakland, have also received little attention in comparison to Floyd.
Floyd’s death last week sparked widespread violent protests across the United States, from New York City to Los Angeles. He died of asphyxiation after a policeman kneeled on him for nearly nine minutes, which was caught on video.
Title image: Protesters take a knee on Flatbush Avenue in front of New York City police officers during a solidarity rally for George Floyd, Thursday, June 4, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
