Orlando-area law enforcement leaders react to death of George Floyd

It’s an incident that started a national conversation, and now, both the Orange County sheriff and the Orlando Police chief are sharing their reactions to the death of George Floyd.

Video showing officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck has triggered nationwide outrage.

Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon said in part, “How did that take place?”

Orange County Sheriff, John Mina, echoed Rolon’s shock, saying, “That video is upsetting to me, as a law man for 30 years.”

After seeing the video, Rolon said it immediately prompted him to send a message to his department. He described “expressing to them the importance of, again, stepping in when they see something that is not right.”

Both leaders agreed on a number of issues. Both said their departments are trained in de-escalating situations. They also said they are confident the community here will protest peacefully.

"It’s upsetting to see buildings on fire, you know, and like I said, unfortunately, we’ve seen that before, and other incidents through our country. And luckily, we have not seen that here, but we’re prepared for something like that,” Mina said.

The two leaders of law enforcement released similar messages, and it’s one Rolon said he’s seen all across the nation.

“Everyone has agreed that this incident is disturbing, that this incident should have never happened, that’s not how we trained our officers, that’s not what our officers represent,” Rolon said.

“America is on fire right now, and the president of the United States is walking around with gasoline. We need healing. We need empathy. We need justice,” Rep. Val Demings said.