Givionne “Gee” Jordan Jr. was heard on video telling officers: “We gotta stop living in fear. I am not your enemy. You are not my enemy.”
Kneeling in front of a group of at least a dozen police officers at a greenspace in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, Givionne “Gee” Jordan Jr. made one thing clear to the officers holding baton sticks, he was “not their enemy.” Then moments later, two officers handcuffed him and sent him to jail.
In a video circulating on social media, Jordan can be seen and heard pleading with the officers to consider the perspective of the protesters, saying, “We are all people. All of you are my family.”
“I love each and every one of you. I cry at night because I feel your pain…. I feel the pain of black people. I feel the pain of white people. I feel the pain of innocent cops. We’re all scared,” he cried. “We gotta stop living in fear. I am not your enemy. You are not my enemy.”
As he continued to speak, other protesters knelt beside him, placing their hands on Jordan’s back and shoulders in solidarity. The cops appeared to continue clutching their batons, even as Jordan said, “I love you and I respect you.”
“I want to understand all of you,” he said. “I would love to see the best side of everybody here.
