Mother Of Black Officer Charged In George Floyd's Death Says He Wanted To 'Change The Narrative' Of Police
Before former Minneapolis police officer, Alexander Kueng, was arrested and charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, he wanted to “change the narrative” around police.
According to his mother, Joni Kueng, in an interview with The New York Times, says that her son often argued that “diversity could force change in a Police Department long accused of racism.”
He also grappled with the growing issue of the excessive police force on Black people and joined the force to protect Black people from police aggression and intimidation after one of his siblings was arrested, according to his mom.
“That’s part of the reason why he wanted to become a police officer — and a Black police officer on top of it — is to bridge that gap in the community, change the narrative between the officers and the Black community,” said Joni Kueng.
Nearly a month after the horrific killing of George, Alexander Kueng, was spotted at a Cub Foods store in the early hours on Sunday (June 21) with a pack of Oreos and a gallon of milk in his hands, after posting a $750,000 bond.
Another shopper, a woman, began recording him.
See the video below:
According to The Star Tribune, Thomas Plunkett, the attorney representing Keung, tried to humanize him by saying he “is a Black man who grew up in north Minneapolis with a single mom who adopted four at-risk children from the community.”
Plunkett also stated during the first court appearance made by the attorneys representing the officers on June 4, “At all times Mr. Kueng and Mr. Lane turned their attention to that 19-year veteran. [Kueng] was trying — they were trying to communicate that this situation needs to change direction.”
Kueng joined the Minneapolis Police Department in December 2019 but May 25 was only his third full shift as a police officer.
George Floyd was killed on May 25 in Minneapolis after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, 44, had his knee in the 46-year-old’s neck for more than eight minutes.
On May 29, Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and arrested on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. On June 3, his charges were upgraded to second-degree murder by the state’s Attorney General Keith Ellison.
The three other officers on the scene when Floyd was killed, Thomas Lane, 37, Tou Thao, 34, and Alexander Kueng, 26, were also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting.
BET has been covering every angle of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.
