To the editor:

I have noticed some people in social media commenting about the fact that George Floyd had a substance abuse problem. He also had brushes with the criminal justice system.

None of that can be used as any justification for what happened to him. In the U.S.A. we cannot allow law enforcement to squeeze the life out of people in broad daylight and justify it because someone has a troubled past. Having this killing done by those entrusted to uphold the nation’s laws has seemed to lead to an outbreak of anarchy and looting. Nevertheless, most protesters were nonviolent. I believe and very much hope that our local police would never ever do such a thing as happened to Floyd.

Sharilyn Wells,

Lawrence