George Floyd's Brother Terrence Says Violent Protests Are 'Not What He Was About'

06/01/2020 10:46 am EDT

George Floyd's younger brother, Terrence Floyd, is pleading with protesters to stay peaceful as demonstrations against racism and police brutality across the U.S. have turned violent. After George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 — captured on video pleading that he couldn't breathe as now-fired officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for several minutes — the family of the man described as a "gentle giant" has called for justice in his case.

But in an interview with ABC News' Alex Perez, Terrence Floyd said he worries his brother's memory will be overshadowed by destructive protests, although he understands the anger. "Sometimes I get angry, I want to bust some heads, too," he said. "I wanna ... just go crazy. But I'm here. My brother wasn't about that. My brother was about peace. You'll hear a lot of people say he was a gentle giant."

Terrence Floyd pleaded with demonstrators not to "tear up your town," saying it is "not necessary" to find justice for his brother. "If his own family and blood are trying to deal with it and be positive about it, and go another route to seek justice, then why are you out here tearing up your community?" he asked. "Because when you're finished and turn around and want to go buy something, you done tore it up. So now you messed up your own living arrangements. So just relax. Justice will be served."

Terrence Floyd added that his brother was known for his "positivity" and "motivation," which is how he wants him to be remembered. He pleaded of the protesters, "Do something positive. Stop making excuses. And that's what I feel is going on: They're using this as an excuse to be stupid."

Chauvin is currently facing charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd's death, but his family is calling for charges to be filed against the other three officers involved in his death. "I want to see all of them get punished to the full extent for what they did to my brother," Terrence Floyd said. "Because when I saw the videos, not only was the dude on his neck ... not only that, you got the other three officers behind the camera, behind the car on him. So he can't move."

Sunday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced state Attorney General Keith Ellison will lead the prosecution of any charges arising from the death of George Floyd after speaking with his family, whom he said were "very clear they wanted the system to work for them, they wanted to believe that there was trust."

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