Tucker Carlson devoted much of his Tuesday night show to staking a decidedly anti-anti-Chauvin position, complaining that former police officer Derek Chauvin was only found guilty of murder because jurors were afraid of Black Lives Matter and suggesting the verdict shows that the U.S. has “already given up on civilization.”
At the same time, the far-right primetime star melted down when a former New York corrections officer who described Chauvin’s actions against George Floyd as “excessive” and “savagery,” letting out a bone-chilling laugh in his guest’s face while cutting him off mid-sentence.
While interviewing Ed Gavin, a former deputy sheriff at the New York City’s Sheriff’s Department, Carlson asked if anyone will want to become a police officer moving forward in a post-Chauvin environment. Gavin, for his part, said he believed “people will still become police officers” before focusing his attention on Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd.
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“This really is a learning experience for everyone,” Gavin said. “Let’s face it, what we saw in that video was pure savagery.”
He continued: “I mean, the documentary evidence showed the police officer putting his knee on the perpetrator’s neck while he was rear cuffed and his stomach was on the ground, causing asphyxia. What I would like to see, Tucker, I would like to see more training for police. I would like to see the police trained as EMTs like the fire department.”
Gavin went on to applaud the jury’s verdict, noting that he’s personally used force “on literally over 500 people in my 21-year career” as an officer and never once had a person go unconscious.
“That was clearly an excessive, unjustified use of force,” he added. “I think the verdict was just, we had documentary evidence, testimonial evidence, and it was an open and shut case. Moving forward, we need to...”
Interrupting Gavin, Carlson then bellowed: “How about enforce the law, do we need to do that? Slow down, do we enforce the law? Let’s say people are going through the window at Macy’s and the cops are just standing there, do they resign?”
The Fox News star also wondered aloud when the police would “protect everybody else, not just George Floyd.”
Asserting that he also wants “police to protect people,” Gavin explained that his point was specifically about law enforcement dealing with someone already handcuffed and subdued. Police should “take a different tact” in that situation, he insisted.
Calling on law enforcement to read previous Justice Department studies on “positional asphyxia and sudden death,” saying they talk about the “physiology of a struggle,” Gavin once again described Chauvin’s actions as excessive, prompting Carlson to interrupt one final time.
“Well, yeah, but the guy that did it looks like he’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison so I’m kind of more worried about the rest of the country, which thanks to police inaction, in case you haven’t noticed, is, like, boarded up,” Carlson sneered, punctuated by a bizarre, high-pitched laugh.
“So that’s more my concern. But I appreciate it, Gavin, thank you,” Carlson quickly added.
“Look, look,” Gavin attempted to respond before his feed was cut off and he was removed from the screen.
“Nope. Done!” Carlson exclaimed before moving on.
