Top Hudson Valley Officials Agree George Floyd was Murdered

County executives in the Hudson Valley are speaking out on the "murder" of George Floyd.

"Was it murder? I mean it was, it was, a murder. No good police officer in America could watch that and thought that went well," Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said on WPDH Monday morning.

Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest on Memorial Day. Video of Floyd's arrest shows an officer with his knee on Floyd's neck as Floyd says he can't "breathe." Four officers involved in the fatal arrest have already been fired.

"Police brutality is unacceptable and the death of George Floyd was murder," Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus wrote on Facebook. "The life of any crime victim, including Mr. Floyd’s, is not honored by destroying the businesses or property of others. Now more than ever, we must unite around what we share in common and speak loudly against injustice. We must also respect law enforcement."

Former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder on Friday. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Chauvin was seen on video with his knee on the neck of Floyd. Police responded to a convenience store on after someone called 911 claiming a person believed to be Floyd used a counterfeit bill and appeared drunk.

“The murder of George Floyd and the events of the last week are absolutely heartbreaking, and have once again exposed the results of generations of injustice and systemic racism in our country. No community is immune to the perils and far-reaching effects of institutional racism and it falls on all of us—no matter your race, gender, or creed—to not just speak up, but to actively self-reflect and fight against these types of injustices," Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said in a statement.