Following George Floyd‘s murder in Minneapolis, there have been ongoing discussions about now-fired police office Derek Chauvin. Knoxville mayor Glenn Jacobs, AKA WWE‘s Kane, has seen some comments calling Chauvin’s actions “justifiable,” and is responding with strong words. He used his professional wrestling background as a basis for explanation.
Jacobs posted the infamous photo of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck during the fatal incident. He explained that there is a reason why people “tap” when they are in a chokehold. This fact is common knowledge to wrestlers and MMA fighters, but Jacobs provided information for everyone else. He explained the potentially-fatal outcome of a chokehold.
Videos by PopCulture.com
To anyone who still thinks is in any way justifiable: there’s a reason you release a chokehold when your opponent taps out. It’s because you don’t want to kill them! So what does it mean if you refuse to release it? pic.twitter.com/VKF0PEGFya
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) May 30, 2020
“Unfortunately it means this so called police officer made a choice to end this mans life. It wasn’t an accident,” one person commented on Twitter. Several others agreed with Jacobs and voiced the opinion that Chauvin should face harsh penalties for his actions. Many called for either life in prison or the death penalty.
Jacobs did not specify whether he believes Chauvin should face first- or third-degree murder charges, but he did make one thing clear. He expressed satisfaction over Chauvin’s arrest. Jacobs says that everyone in positions of power must be held accountable for their actions.
The Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin and three other officers in the wake of Floyd’s death, but protesters called for justice. The now-fired officer is now under arrest and is facing third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. The other three officers are not currently facing any charges.
Minnesota is one of the few states with three degrees of murder charges. Third-degree murder is defined as causing the death of a person “by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind.” This designation means that the person did not have regard for the victim’s life but did not have the intent to kill them.
Several people are now calling for prosecutors to charge Chauvin with first-degree murder, including Floyd’s family. Their attorney, Benjamin Crump, appeared on Face the Nation and spoke about their wishes. He said that they believe Chauvin had the intent to kill Floyd based on the sheer amount of time that he remained on his neck.
“We think that [Chauvin] had intent, based on not the one minute, two minutes, but over eight minutes, almost nine minutes, he kept his knee in a man’s neck that was begging and pleading for breath,” Crump said during the appearance. “At what point does it not be about detaining a man who is face-down with handcuffs, not posing any threat, to an intentional will to cause bodily harm? And if that results in death, every prosecutor in America will show that that is first-degree murder.”
