Fox News’s Tucker Carlson abruptly ended an interview on Tuesday with former New York City corrections officer Ed Gavin after a discussion about policing in the country. Earlier in the day, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
"Who's going to be a cop now, do you think?" Carlson asked Gavin at the start of the interview.
"I think people will still become police officers. This really is a learning experience for everyone," Gavin replied before pivoting to Chauvin.
"Let's face it, what we saw in that video was pure savagery," the former corrections officer said. "I mean, the documentary evidence shows the police officer putting his knee on the perpetrator's neck while he was rear cuffed and his stomach was on the ground, causing positional asphyxia."
At a different point in the interview, Gavin again noted Floyd had been brought under control.
"What should have happened at that point, is EMS should have been summoned, and he should have been placed in an ambulance, and a supervisor should have been called to the scene. I just think that it was excessive…"
"Yeah, well, the guy who 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. So that’s more my concern. But I appreciate you coming on. Ed Gavin, thank you," Carlson interjected.
When Gavin started to respond, the host replied, "Nope, done, thank you."
Earlier in Tuesday's program, Carlson questioned the way the verdict was reached in Chauvin's trial.
"The jury in the Derek Chauvin trial came to a unanimous and unequivocal verdict Tuesday afternoon: 'Please don’t hurt us.' The jurors spoke for many in this country; everyone understood perfectly well the consequences of an acquittal in this case. After nearly a year of burning, looting, and murder by BLM, that was never in doubt," he said.
"So before we consider the details of Tuesday’s verdict, a bigger question, one we should all think about: Can we trust the way this decision was made?"
Join the conversation as a VIP Member