Somerville Chief: George Floyd's Death 'Unnecessary And Tragic'

SOMERVILLE, MA – Somerville Police Chief David Fallon condemned the actions of the Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd. In a statement Friday, Fallon said he was "devastated to see the brutality inflicted by a police officer on another human being and member of our shared world community, George Floyd."

Police departments across the country, including in Boston, expressed condolences to the Floyd family and indicated support for the Minneapolis police chief's decision to fire the four officers involved.

Minneapolis police identified the four officers as Derek Chauvin, who was caught on video with his knee on Floyd, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng.

Chauvin was the subject of a dozen complaints in his 19-years with the Minneapolis Police Department, according to NBC. He was charged with third degree murder Friday.

Read Fallon's full statement below:

"Somerville Police Officers have dedicated themselves to transparent, compassionate, procedurally just community policing. As a member of the world community and a human being I was devastated to see the brutality inflicted by a police officer on another human being and member of our shared world community, George Floyd. As a Department we grieve with our community as we process this unnecessary and tragic loss of life. I look forward to productive conversation with our community and conversation with police leaders throughout the country on how we prevent this from ever happening again."