Saints' Demario Davis Says 'We Have to Change the Way Policing Is Done'

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis has called for large-scale police reform in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

During an appearance on NFL Network on Monday, Davis said, "We have to change the way policing is done in our country."

NFL.com's Nick Shook shared more of Davis' comments:

"We know how to respond to crisis, we know how to respond to tragedies. Just think back to 9/11. 9/11 changed the way that we do airports. You'll never walk into an airport and it'll be the same. It was changed as a form of protection. We would never allow that situation to happen again in our country and that's what we need to do around policing. We need to change the way that we police so we won't have these incidents come up again. Because every time it does it tears at the threads of America. It tears us apart."

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was among four officers who were responding to an alleged forgery in progress. They removed Floyd from his car, and a video showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck while Floyd was on the ground.

Floyd was heard saying he couldn't breathe yet remain restrained. He died later a local hospital, and the Hennepin County medical examiner determined his death was a "homicide resulting from being restrained," per CNN's Nadia Kounang.

Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The Players Coalition, of which Davis is a part, issued a statement in which the group largely echoed his comments from Monday:

Protests sparked by Floyd's killing and continued Monday, with people taking to the streets to demand an end to police brutality and systemic racism.

To some extent, the protests have served as a form of vindication for Colin Kaepernick, who first remained seated and then began kneeling during the national anthem as a way to protest violence perpetrated by police against people of color.

Kaepernick filed a grievance against NFL owners in October 2017, alleging they conspired to keep him out of the NFL in response to his social activism. His former teammate Eric Reid filed a grievance as well, and they settled their claims with the league in February 2019.