Justice for George Floyd vigil held in St. Peter

ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) - A vigil was held in St. Peter along Highway 169 Thursday for George Floyd - the man who died following an arrest by Minneapolis Police.

Despite loud honks from passing cars, the vigil was peaceful and residents from surrounding communities converged on Memorial Square park to have their voice heard.

Participants in the vigil say that their goal is to bring awareness to Floyd’s death and to bring about justice in a peaceful manner following recent violence in the Twin Cities.

“It’s important that people know that the people stand up and take action. It’s important to get engaged,” said Daniel Cronn-Milles, a member of Indivisible of St. Peter/Mankato’s leadership team. “It’s important to get our government responsible and that the police are the servants of the people and not killing the people.”

“I would tell folks we’re here for justice, and if we’re here for justice, let’s do that work," said Bukata Hayes, the Executive Director of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council. "It’s not instant gratification, it’s not instant change, but it is a long, long road, but justice isn’ easy. So we have to understand that.”

“It made me really mad that someone can just record someone who’s screaming for help - just record them and not try to help - and it also made me really mad because he said he was in handcuffs and he wasn’t resisting the arrest," said Mankato resident Achalla Myigwo. "He was being really polite about it and it was just a small crime that turned into something bigger. He didn’t deserve to die.”

“All we want to do is keep this from happening ever again," said Mankato resident Chris Dorn. "It’s just been too much and it’s constantly happening. Minneapolis has a terrible history of racist profiling and it’ just got to stop.”

“You don’t need to arrest in that manner," said St. Peter resident Charlie Remmert. "They had him in handcuffs and you don’t need to put your knee on top of him. That’s not even the training and there was no way he was resisting arrest in any of those moments.”

“It is still the role of an entire community - black and white - and all folks together who need to bring about change, resolution and reconciliation," said Hayes. "And so I would just leave that with folks, that we all play our part and I think that this is a time in which we all have to stand up courageously to play our part to bring about the community that we seek.”

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