By Trevor Hunnicutt
(Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden showed compassion that “meant the world” to George Floyd’s family on Monday, according to a lawyer for relatives of the unarmed black man who died in police custody.
Biden met with Floyd’s relatives in Houston for more than an hour, said lawyer Benjamin Crump, who posted a picture of himself on Twitter after the meeting with Biden, Floyd’s uncle Roger, civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton and Representative Cedric Richmond.
“He listened, heard their pain, and shared in their woe,” Crump said of the private meeting. “That compassion meant the world to this grieving family.”
Floyd died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
On Monday, mourners gathered in Floyd’s Texas hometown at a public viewing ahead of a private funeral service scheduled for Tuesday. The former vice president is expected to record a statement for the service, an aide said.
Biden, who first spoke with the family by telephone more than a week ago, has called for policies to address “systemic racism” in law enforcement. He also accused his Nov. 3 election opponent, President Donald Trump, of stoking division in response to massive street demonstrations that spread across the United States and around the world.
Trump has also spoken with Floyd’s family in a call that Floyd’s brother Philonise said in interviews was brief and did not provide him with an opportunity to say much. On Monday, the president said at a law enforcement roundtable that he is looking at policing reforms.
Biden’s trip to Texas comes as his staff grapples with how to campaign safely during the coronavirus pandemic. Biden only left his Delaware home a handful of times since shutdowns began in March, but had not traveled farther than Philadelphia.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Bill Berkrot)
