George Floydโs death affected Jawann McClellan on multiple levels.
Like millions of others, the former Arizona Wildcats guard watched the video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into the back of Floydโs neck until he died, an act that has led to global protests and vows to change the system.
McClellan reacted with a mixture of sadness and frustration. As a police officer in his hometown of Houston, McClellan said he knew what Chauvin did was inexcusable.
โAs police, weโre not trained like that,โ McClellan said. โObviously, when you put someone in handcuffs, thatโs a wrap. It doesnโt matter if he shot your mom or whatever the case may be. When heโs in handcuffs, the fight is over with and it doesnโt matter what he did. โฆ The video, from a police perspective, was all wrong and there is no way to justify it.โ
Then thereโs this: McClellan knew Floyd. They grew up as sports standouts in Houstonโs Third Ward, though Floyd was 12 years older. Both played college sports, Floyd at Texas A&M-Kingsville and McClellan at the UA.
McClellan, 34, was dispatched to work protests throughout Houston following Floydโs death, and was on patrol Wednesday when Floydโs casket was taken to the cemetery.
McClellan joined the Starโs Wildcast podcast this week to share his thoughts on police brutality in the United States, his relationship with Floyd and experiences with law enforcement. His responses have been lightly edited for context and clarity:
As a police officer, how would you assess the events that took place in the U.S. over the last few weeks?
A: โItโs been very difficult. โฆ When that video came out of George with the police officer in Minneapolis, it was clearly a modern day โ as you would call โ lynching that was caught on camera. The difference with this one is, unlike the other ones, he died very slowly and you could witness him losing his life. It really touched me, because he is my O.G. Weโre from the same neighborhood, so I knew George from the time I was 4 or 5 years old. He went to Yates High School and that was the school I was supposed to go to, but I went to another school for obvious reasons, because youโre trying to get away from all that going on. So that really hurt.
โBut like I said, the thing about policing, there are bad seeds in every job you do โ whether itโs playing at the University of Arizona and thereโs a bad teammate, or youโre in a law firm and thereโs a bad person there. The difference between our bad seeds is theyโre taking African-American lives right now.โ
What was Floyd like growing up?
A: โGeorge was (Rob Gronkowski) before there was a โGronk.โ In high school, George was about 6-6, 225 (pounds), and I tell everybody, if he had my parents, then โฆ he was a walking millionaire. Thatโs what we used to call him, โwalking millionaire.โ He didnโt have the guidance that everyone from a two-parent household came from (had). George was very poor. I remember it like it was yesterday, his unit number, his project number. He stayed adjacent to where my house was. His project, which is called Cuney Homes here in Houston, he stayed adjacent and parallel โ I could see his window. He was a very funny guy, he liked to crack jokes all the time and thatโs just what he was. He never really messed with anybody even though he could with that size. He wasnโt a bully and, you know, we all have our flaws and whatnot; heโs not perfect, Iโm not perfect, nobodyโs perfect. But he was far from, what you would say, a criminal.โ
What goes through your mind when fellow Houston native and former NBA player Stephen Jackson continues to use his platform to lead the charge to get justice for Floyd?
A: โโStackโ is the man right now. Heโs one of the main people pushing the movement, if not the main person pushing the movement. This awakened everybody and we appreciate all the athletes and entertainers using their platform. Itโs just sad that someone had to lose their life for everyone to wake up. โStackโ is one of the reasons why I went to the University of Arizona, because I looked up to him โฆ and everyone knew Stephen Jackson was gonna come to the University of Arizona had he got (a high enough) SAT score back in the day. But โStackโ is really leading the movement. Heโs for the people โ but heโs not just for black people, heโs for whatโs right and for all the people.
โThatโs what people need to understand: All lives do matter, but until black lives matter, then all lives canโt matter. We have to get everyone on the same accord. โฆ Unfortunately, you have people born in the (1940s) and โ50s, and I donโt know how you could change their mind, because you canโt change the way I was raised or you canโt change the way you were raised. Your way of thinking is already embedded in you. I donโt know the answer to how we can cause change. โฆ Hopefully we can all get to a place where we can all just love each other and move on, because this is sad. Whether George was black or white โ or anything, it didnโt matter what color he was โ nobody should get brutalized by the police like that.โ
Growing up in Houston, what was your experience with police?
A: โMy mom and dad always taught me the rules and regulations of dealing with police. Actually, itโs a little different now, which is scary to think. People arenโt scared of police now like we were back in the day. I can remember when a police officer would walk in my direction, I would turn around and just go the other direction, because you didnโt know if you were doing something wrong at the time.
โNow, people arenโt scared of police, but more fearful of a traffic stop. If you got pulled over for a traffic stop, then maybe youโd get a little scared. โฆ I was raised by two parents who grew up during the Jim Crow laws and theyโre from the Deep South in Arkansas, so their take on a lot of stuff is obviously a lot different than some of the stuff I came up with, because I was a high-level athlete. I never experienced (much) racism because of what I could do with a basketball. โฆ When that ball stops, then you could see what people really think about you.
โI think Iโve only experienced racism twice in my life, and one of them was at the University of Arizona. My freshman year, we were at a party and I donโt even know what happened, but something happened at the party and I wasnโt even in the party, I was standing outside. โฆ I was handcuffed and stuffed in the back of a police car for four hours and wasnโt charged or arrested, but I couldnโt leave. I still canโt figure that one out, but it happened.โ
What was going through your mind when you sat in the back of the police car?
A: โI thought my career was over. We had just lost to Illinois (in the 2005 Elite Eight) a week or two before that, so here I am thinking my career is over with. In the back of my mind, thereโs so many people whoโve been to prison that didnโt do anything (wrong) and get falsely convicted, so thatโs where my mindset was at. (The officer) kept telling me I wasnโt charged or arrested, but I couldnโt leave the back of the police car and I just sat back there with handcuffs on. Obviously, I was released four hours later, but that was the scariest moment of my life.โ
What made you want to pursue criminal justice?
A: โI wanted to try and make a change, honestly. And not just with police brutality, but in my own neighborhood. We dealt with the protests so itโs been a long week for me, and I heard people of my color call me a (racial slur) or words that you know donโt have anything to do with you, because Iโm from the same neighborhood as you are. My people are hurting right now and they donโt know how to express it when they see people of their color with the other team. Iโm trying to tell them, โIf you want change, come join.โ Thatโs the only way thatโs going to help.
โIf we join, we canโt point the finger and say this and this and that. I tell people, โHey, if we werenโt on the force, what do you think would be going on?โ I did it for change and I didnโt have to do it for the money. The money is good, but itโs not why I got into it. Honestly, I thought it was my calling. It was either that or coaching for me, and in the coaching ranks, you deal with a little racism, too. As you know, the black coach is looked at as the recruiter; he goes and gets the kids. The black coach is looked at as the token guy and the recruiter. When the black coach gets all the kids, he doesnโt get a job. โฆ Weโre still dealing with it and weโre nowhere close to where we want to be. Iโm not saying all black coaches are great or all black police officers are great โ or all black people are great, because we have bad seeds in every race. But just because youโre a bad seed, itโs not left up to us to judge your fate. We all just need to get along and be cordial.โ
When you saw the video of Floyd, did you think itโd have the impact it had?
A: โI did not. (Michael Brownโs 2014 killing in Ferguson, Missouri) was probably the closest thing to it, but it was only in Ferguson. I didnโt think it was going to be more than nationwide. Weโre talking about London, Israel, China, things like that outside of the United States. You see people marching and George Floydโs mural hanging everywhere. I didnโt know it was going to impact like that. What got me that it could have the impact like that was the last three minutes when you could just tell his body was lifeless. โฆ The video from a police perspective was all wrong, and there was no way you could justify it.โ
This year has been troubling for a number of reasons, but what do you believe will be the positive outcome when we look back on this?
A: โI donโt know if you and I will be alive to see it. This is going to take time and this is a 20- or 30-year (process). Keep building, right? Weโve been dealing with this for 400 years and now itโs 2020. I donโt think this discussion or topic will go away anytime soon. โฆ I donโt get into politics, but I want the people at the top to do what is right for all people. I just hope we get to a place where we can all get along and figure this thing out. This is going to be an ongoing thing.โ