Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas tweets George Floyd case is ‘clearly police brutality’

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted Monday afternoon that the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis black man, is "clearly police brutality."

"There is no legitimate law enforcement purpose for what we saw in George Floyd’s case. It was clearly police brutality and it was not conduct we expect of any officer. Now, the criminal justice system must hold these officers accountable for their actions," Cruz posted to Twitter.

Cruz reiterated his comments in an interview with Fox News.

"It's horrific, and it starts with a horrific act of police brutality," Texas' junior GOP senator said on Fox News. "You know, anytime you have a police officer-involved shooting, the media oftentimes goes into a frenzy. And there is an immediate demonization and attack of the police officers, and I think that's wrong, and I think it's premature."

"That being said, in this instance, we have a video of the incident, and we can see with Mr. Floyd, the officer with his knee on his neck for eight minutes," he continued. "Mr. Floyd has handcuffs. He's clearly incapacitated. He's begging for his life, and what we saw was wrong."

There is no legitimate law enforcement purpose for what we saw in #GeorgeFloyd’s case. It was clearly police brutality and it was not conduct we expect of any officer. Now, the criminal justice system must hold these officers accountable for their actions. pic.twitter.com/wf6lGbbdoD

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 1, 2020