Val Demings, former cop, asks Minnesota law enforcement 'what the hell are you doing?'

Rep. Val Demings, a top prospect to become Joe Biden's running mate, has unleashed on her former law enforcement colleagues after a night of unrest around the country sparked by police-involved deaths of African Americans.

"As a former woman in blue, let me begin with my brothers and sisters in blue: What in the hell are you doing?" Demings wrote in a Friday op-ed for the Washington Post.

The Florida Democrat and former Orlando Police Department chief urged law enforcement officers to use their brains because "stupid, heartless and reckless behavior" can "take a life or change a life forever," and "bad decisions can bring irrevocable harm to the profession and tear down the relationships and trust between the police and the communities they serve."

Protesters took to the streets of Minnesota this week after video was circulated online of a Minneapolis officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, for about eight minutes until he became unresponsive. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. On Thursday night, demonstrations, which began with looting Wednesday night, escalated and the city's police's 3rd Precinct was set ablaze.

Similar unrest erupted elsewhere around the country. Seven people were shot at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky, demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT worker, was shot and killed in March after officers forced their way inside her apartment while executing a search warrant in a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in her home.

Demings on Friday pressed the importance of the level of force meeting the level of resistance when detaining suspects and making arrests, calling for the removal of any officer who doesn't remember the difference.

"As law enforcement officers, we took an oath to protect and serve. And those who forgot — or who never understood that oath in the first place — must go. That includes those who would stand by as they witness misconduct by a fellow officer," she wrote.

She added, "As a nation, we must conduct a serious review of hiring standards and practices, diversity, training, use-of-force policies, pay and benefits (remember, you get what you pay for), early warning programs, and recruit training programs."

Demings, a House Democrat impeachment manager charged with prosecuting President Trump during his Senate trial, served about three-and-a-half years as Orlando's first woman police chief, after a long career with the force. She's now on Biden's shortlist to become the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee.

"If asked, I would be honored to serve alongside Joe Biden and do everything in my power to get this country back on track," she said this month of the vetting process.