O.J. Simpson called for change on Twitter after George Floyd was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
The former NFL running back shared a lengthy video Friday reflecting on the protests in Minnesota and on the circumstances of George Floyd’s death.
WATCH:
Will it ever change? pic.twitter.com/vTopqrIonR
— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) May 29, 2020
“This is kind of a sad day, you know,” Simpson began. “I mean, looking at what’s going on in Minnesota. Especially, you know, the incident itself angered a lot of people.”
“But I think what you’re seeing, the reaction, is the fear that nothing’s going to be done about it. That’s been the case in the past,” he continued. “That’s what led to the riots in L.A. after the Rodney King case, was the verdict didn’t seem valid.”
“What are you going to do about it?” he asked in the video. “You keep saying this has got to stop, only time it’s going to stop is when you start truly holding the perpetrators to account. Start putting them in jail.” (RELATED: Taylor Swift Goes After President Trump Over George Floyd Tweets)
Simpson referenced the report that the police officer who held his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck had 18 complaints and said the officer had only two disciplinary actions in his record. He went on to mention the CNN news crew that was arrested early Friday morning while Minnesota State Police were attempting to clear a roadway in Minneapolis.
“Problem is you do nothing about it,” Simpson said. “I watched them arrest a CNN news crew and later, when the guys got out of jail, the guy said that the police officer was courteous. He said he was just following orders. Well, who gave that order? The guy who gave that order should be disciplined, should be demoted, or something.”
Simpson said he understands that it takes time to investigate, but said “I guarantee you, if he was black and he did this to a white guy, he’d already be in jail.”
“The point is, what are we going to do to stop this happening in the future?” he concluded. “Start convicting these guys.”
Simpson’s comments come after the National Guard was brought in to Minneapolis to subdue protests which erupted after Floyd was killed while in custody of a Minneapolis police officer.
Protests turned into riots Wednesday evening and continued through Thursday during the day and night.