Dog the Bounty Hunter star Duane “Dog” Chapman is not a police officer, but he has worked with law enforcement for decades as a bounty hunter. In a recent podcast interview with Tom Green, the reality TV star weighed in on the death of George Floyd, the Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Chapman said it was a “pity” that people continue dying in police custody across the country.
“Every cop is not like that. It’s a small percent,” Chapman said on Tom Green Interview, reports Taste of Country. “There are dang good cops in America … and there’s a few rotten. There’s a few priests that are rotten. So you can’t hold it against every cop, but we all know which cops do it.” Chapman said police officers and other groups that have codes bounding them together make it difficult for them to “rat on each other.”
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Chapman was shocked by the video of former officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Still, he blamed the Minneapolis police chief and mayor. “There’s an old Indian saying that s— runs downhill,” Chapman said. “And when it’s crooked on top, it’s crooked down.”
This was not the first time Chapman has commented on the situation. Back on June 2, Chapman published a letter from his friend, attorney James Quadra, who called on all four police officers involved in Floyd’s death to be arrested, reports The Blast. “I write to urge you to charge Derek Chauvin with first-degree murder of George Floyd and to charge the other officers involved in Mr. Floyd’s death with aiding and abetting in his murders,” the San Francisco attorney wrote. Quadra noted that he previously worked at the City Attorney’s office and worked with police officers during his time there.
“In almost 33 years of practicing law, I have never seen anything like the murder of George Floyd by police officers. The conduct of those Minneapolis police officers was horrific,” Quandra wrote. The attorney also partly blamed President Donald Trump for Floyd’s death but noted that systemic racism has existed long before Trump was elected. “The systemic racism that permeates U.S police departments and every aspect of our government also predates the occupant of the White House and poisons our society. It’s maddening and heartbreaking,” Quandra wrote.
Floyd died while in police custody when Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes. Floyd was arrested after a store clerk alleged he gave him a counterfeit $20 bill. All four police officers were arrested. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Kane and Tou Thao were each charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. The department fired all four officers.
