Though June feels like decades ago in today’s political climate, a new report from VICE shows some absolutely stunning details about what local and federal authorities were apparently prepared to do in case chaos or unrest broke out while people gathered outside of Houston, Texas, to mourn George Floyd, the unarmed Black man killed by police when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. VICE’s report uses documents provided to the news outlet by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which were obtained by a public records request. PowerPoint slides reportedly go over how both local and federal law enforcement readied for Floyd’s burial, and it’s a doozy.
VICE reports that according to planning records, six “sniper teams” were authorized to “open fire” from their positions on rooftops if chaos broke out on June 9, the day mourners came to watch Floyd be put to rest in the Houston suburb of Pearland, Texas. The records also reportedly stated that “overwatch units” were used to keep an eye on the crowd. Given that the nation was then—and still is—protesting and demonstrating against police brutality and for Black lives, the notion that officials were ready to meet potential unrest with such force is particularly chilling. The burial was by and large peaceful in the end, though records reportedly show officials were preparing for both civil unrest and potential attacks on the burial.
