Penn State, State College leaders continue to speak out after Floyd’s death, protests
Hundreds gathered Sunday in downtown State College to protest racism and police brutality, and absent some signs that were left behind, the borough is in the same physical shape Monday that it was Saturday.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died last week after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Three other officers looked on.
All four were fired the day after Floyd’s death. One officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
The peaceful protest in Happy Valley was a departure from many protests throughout the United States that turned violent, including one in Harrisburg.
The protest was organized by State College Area High School senior Lilyana Hasan, a 16-year-old who received praise Monday for her organization skills from borough police Chief John Gardner.
Speeches at the Allen Street Gates and marches throughout the borough could only be done safely, Gardner said, if police cordoned certain areas of — something Hasan was willing to communicate to protesters.
“I said, ‘Make sure that you tell your group why we’re doing this and that we’re not here to stifle this process or put down a protest.’ It was merely to make your passage through town safe. And to her credit, she did that,” Gardner said. “... We knew right from the get-go in talking with her that the intent was not to have confrontations or mayhem. It was to have their right to be heard on these issues.”
In the week since Floyd’s death, several Penn State and community leaders have spoken out about the killing, including President Eric Barron, Intercollegiate Athletics Vice President Sandy Barbour, football coach James Franklin and former men’s basketball player Lamar Stevens.
“In the face of hatred and bias, we must speak out,” Barron wrote Saturday. “We must not accept apathy, indifference or silence, otherwise we allow hatred, prejudice and intolerance to grow.”
Added Barbour: “These senseless acts must stop and we must create and maintain in our communities an environment that is accepting — dare I say welcoming — of all the differences that make up our diverse and wonderful campuses.”
Franklin, who was one of 14 African American head college football coaches in 2019, expressed frustration in a written statement about the “country’s inaction.”
“My heart is broken, my beliefs have been challenged, and my emotions are raw,” Franklin wrote. “These senseless deaths are a symptom of a larger problem and in moments like this, silence is deafening indifference.”
The protest was one of several in State College in about the past year. Dozens, if not hundreds, protested the death of Osaze Osagie, a 29-year-old African American who was fatally shot in March 2019 by a State College police officer.
The officers involved were cleared of any wrongdoing by Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna, state police at Rockview and an internal review group.
State College interim Mayor Ron Filippelli, who assumed that role in December, has not shied away from playing a part in the community’s healing process.
Filippelli, who spoke at Sunday’s protest, has consistently said he believes he can be a “mediator” between different community groups.
“It is unacceptable to look past and ignore the hate and systematic racism that continues to exist in our country,” Filippelli said in a written statement. “I will not be silent on this issue and hope there is a groundswell of citizens of all races, especially white persons, who not only speak out against racism, but take action to make our community one that is accepting, tolerant, inclusive, and just for all persons regardless of race, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability.”
Several police departments across the country, including Penn State and State College police, denounced the actions of the officers involved in Floyd’s death.
“As a profession, we must and can do better,” Police and Public Safety Assistant Vice President Charlie Noffsinger, Chief Joseph Milek and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Iris Richardson said in a written statement. “The challenge of changing the culture of policing by placing more emphasis on being guardians, versus warriors, must be a challenge we are willing to embrace within our profession.”
The restraint used by Chauvin is “deeply troubling” and is not consistent with any police training given to borough police officers, Gardner said.
“Sitting here from afar, (it’s) unconscionable. The fact of the matter is it outrages you as a police officer,” Gardner said. “It seems like when you try to take a couple steps forward, something like that happens and it sets all of law enforcement back. We do get upset and enraged by that. ... We have constantly got to build trust and relationships, and it makes it very difficult when you see an event like that.”
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 3:41 PM.