Walz visits memorial for George Floyd

Ben Henry

[anvplayer video=”4916595″ station=”998122″]

In an unannounced visit Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz spent part of his morning at the growing memorial in south Minneapolis for George Floyd, who died May 25 while in police custody.

Along with First Lady Gwen Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, the group spent time with community members. Walz even wrote in chalk, "Justice now."

Walz also took a moment to apologize to CNN reporter Omar Jimenez, whom Minnesota State Patrol troopers arrested while he was covering the unrest in the Twin Cities.

KSTP’s full George Floyd coverage

After, he spoke about how this week has been and what needs to happen moving forward.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz stands at the memorial for George Floyd on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in Minneapolis.[Ben Henry/KSTP]

“It’s very personal. We wanted to try and get down early — I will say that because I very much worry about white politicians appropriating black pain, and that’s certainly not it,” Walz said.

“I don’t think we get another chance to fix this in the country, I really don’t,” the governor added. “I don’t think that’s hyperbole. I think being at the heart of this and seeing the community’s pain so viscerally, this is … this is going to have to be that change we look for.”