Teacher Suspended After Being Filmed Telling Class George Floyd Would ‘Still Be Alive’ If He Complied

During a Zoom class with her students from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks, a teacher referred to as ‘Ms. Gardner’ could be heard claiming that Black people would be less likely to be shot if they complied with the police.

In a 15-minute video, which has since been uploaded to YouTube by a parent, Ms. Gardner advised her students that they should comply with officers during an arrest even if they believe they are being wrongfully arrested.

The video can be viewed below:

Although it is unclear how the discussion was sparked, Ms. Gardner began by stating that there had ‘been a lot of shootings with people of colour’, adding, ‘The reason why you don’t hear about it though is because it doesn’t fit that angry white male narrative.’

She continued to assert that although ‘it was a terrible thing for the girl to get shot’, Columbus, Ohio Police Officer Nicholas Reardon had no choice but to shoot her as officers don’t ‘have time to choose between their gun and taser’.

If George Floyd had at the beginning when they got him out of the car and went to put him in the police car, if he had just sidled into the car and slid in there and let them put his legs in, he would be alive today. You know that’s true.

At one point in the lesson, a parent interjected and challenged Ms. Gardner, stating:

I just disagree with the conversation in whole. I feel like this is something that you know like Ms. Gardner I don’t feel like you’re really able to address with you being a white woman. You know I am a woman of colour.

Ms. Gardner responded to this by telling the parent ‘that’s where you’re wrong’, after which the parent emphasised once again, ‘I am a woman of colour’.