WASHINGTON, June 10. /TASS/. Systemic racism exists everywhere in the United States, not just in law enforcement bodies, former US vice president and presidential nominee Joseph Biden said in an interview with CBS.
When asked whether he believed that there was systemic racism in the US law enforcement, Biden replied "absolutely."
"It’s not just in law enforcement, it’s across the board - it’s in housing, in education. It’s in everything we do. It’s real. It’s genuine. It’s serious," Biden said in an excerpt of the interview, released by CBS on Twitter.
"Not all law enforcement officers are racist. My lord, there are some really good, good cops out there. But the way in which it works right now is, we've seen too many examples of it," he added.
The issue of systemic racism in US law enforcement was brought into the spotlight following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A police officer kneeled on his neck and choked him during his arrest. Floyd later died in a local Minneapolis hospital. All officers involved in the fatal incident were fired and are now facing criminal charges. The patrolman in question, Derek Chauvin, is being charged with second-degree murder.
Shortly after, protests against racial discrimination and police misconduct and brutality flared up in the US and many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and France.