The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer is the latest example of a shockingly disturbing reality in America ... leading many to conclude it's "open season on black people" ... this according to the lawyer representing George's family.
Attorney Ben Crump joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to express the shock, outrage and sadness so many are feeling following Monday night's brutal incident ... in which a cop, who was responding to a forgery call, choked off George's air supply until he died.
Crump says George's family is having a terrible time comprehending what's captured on video -- the cop kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 MINUTES, despite his pleas that he couldn't breathe ... and everyone's in disbelief at what Ben calls a lack of humanity.
As we reported ... the Police Dept. released a statement saying no weapons were used during the incident, but as Crump points out -- that statement doesn't address the officer's brutality, and there's no explanation or justification for what happened anyway. The P.D.'s initial statement seemed to justify the incident, and it appears it was released before the video surfaced.
The Mayor of Minneapolis has expressed outrage, saying, "When you hear someone calling for help, you're supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense."
Of course, the cop responsible for the knee to the neck had a partner during the arrest, and Crump believes that officer's actions make him complicit in the killing. As Crump says ... this cop also ignored Floyd's cries and protests from people watching, and didn't do a thing to help.
Minneapolis PD Chief Medaria Arradondo seems to have reached a similar conclusion -- on Tuesday afternoon he announced the firing of 4 officers involved in the incident. The officers names have not been released yet.
Crump feels it's long overdue for police officers to be held accountable for their actions -- or inaction -- like this ... no more benefit of the doubt or obligatory moral high ground given. Listen to how Ben explains it, though ... he makes a very good point.
Finally, this case is being compared to the death of Eric Garner in 2014 because of the obvious similarities, and Crump says he's going to try to get Eric's family in touch with Floyd's ... a request made by Eric's mother.
Along with representing Floyd's family, Crump is the lawyer for Ahmaud Arbery's family and he's a renowned civil rights attorney, who also worked with Trayvon Martin's family in the past.