‘Nope! Done’: Tucker Carlson Shuts Down Interview After Guest Said Chauvin Used Excessive Force

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night ended an interview with a former New York City corrections officer after the guest criticized former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for using excessive force when he killed George Floyd.

On Tuesday afternoon, a jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Footage of the incident showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes as he gasped for air. The incident triggered a nationwide reckoning and protests around the country against police brutality and systemic racism.

In an interview with ex-corrections officer Ed Gavin on Tucker Carlson Tonight, the host started by asking, “Who’s going to be a cop now, do you think?”

“I think people will still become police officers. This really is a learning experience for everyone,” Gavin said, before pivoting to criticizing Chauvin.

“Let’s face it, what we saw in that video was pure savagery,” the ex-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. I’d like to see more training for police. I’d like to see the police trained as EMTs, like in the Fire Department.”

Gavin also expressed support for the jury’s guilty verdict.

Tucker Carlson
Fox News host Tucker Carlson discusses ‘Populism and the Right’ during the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

He said: “I’ve used force on literally over 500 people in my 21 year career in the New York City Department of Correction and in the New York City Sheriff’s Department, I’ve never had anyone go unconscious. That was clearly unjustified use of force. I think the verdict was just, I think we had documentary evidence, we had testimonial evidence and it was an open and shut case. Moving forward, we need to…”

Carlson then interrupted the guest, challenging his position. “How about enforce the law, do we need to do that?” he asked. “Slow down, do we enforce the law? Let’s say people are going through the window at Macy and the cops are just standing there, do they resign? … When do they start doing something about it and protect everybody else, not just George Floyd?”

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