Cher apologizes after criticism over her George Floyd tweet

Singer Cher apologized on Saturday after she was criticized for suggesting on Twitter she could have prevented George Floyd's death if she was there.

Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody last year. Video showed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white and currently on trial for the death of Floyd, kneeling on Floyd's neck for about nine minutes while he was handcuffed and repeatedly saying, "I can't breathe."

On Friday evening, the 74-year-old singer and actress said in a since-deleted tweet: "Was talking with Mom & She Said 'I Watched Trial Of Policeman Who Killed George Floyd, & Cried'. I Said 'Mom, I Know This Is Gonna Sound CRAZY, But.. I Kept Thinking .....Maybe If I'd Been There,...I Could've Helped."

The tweet drew online criticism accusing the pop star of having a "white savior complex" and potentially behaving in a self-serving way that does little to tackle systemic issues like racism.

"@Cher I say this with respect: White savior complex. Stop," one Twitter user wrote.

Another Twitter user wrote: "We as white women just need to be careful that we don’t make ourselves the star of the story. I’m sure you didn’t intend that, but it can come across that way."

Cher initially doubled down on her stance following the criticism, telling fans: “You Don’t Know What I’ve Done,Who I Am,Or What I Believe.I CAN,I HAVE,& I WILL..HELP.”

But, she said on Saturday, after speaking with her friend, "Karen," she realized: "You Can Piss Ppl Off,& Hurt Them By Not Knowing Everything That’s'NOT Appropriate'To Say."

"IM TRULY SORRY If I Upset AnyOne In Blk Community," she said on Twitter.

The apology came amid the second week of testimony in the trial of Chauvin, who was charged with third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and second-degree murder in the death of Floyd.

Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests against systemic racism and renewed calls to end police brutality and racial inequities.

Chauvin is on trial on charges of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers who responded to the scene and were fired — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. They are scheduled to stand trial in August.

Prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked Arradondo whether he had a belief about when Chauvin's restraint of Floyd, including kneeling on his neck, should have ended.

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"Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped," Arradondo responded.

"There's an initial reasonableness in trying to just get him under control in the first few seconds," Arradondo said. "But once there was no longer any resistance, and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back, that in no way, shape or form is anything that is by policy. It is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or values."

The prosecution has said Floyd died from Chauvin's kneeling on his neck. The defense has said Floyd's death was caused by an overdose, underlying health conditions and adrenaline.

During his testimony, Arradondo explained departmental policy on when force and de-escalation tactics are necessary. He said Chauvin failed to follow policies on de-escalation, use of force and the duty to render aid to people who need it when he knelt on Floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes. Floyd, who was Black, was recorded in a widely seen bystander video repeatedly telling Chauvin, who is white, that he could not breathe.

"We have a duty of care, and so when someone's in our custody, regardless of if they are a suspect, we have an obligation to make sure that we provide for their care," Arradondo said.

Prosecutors have said that when Chauvin restrained Floyd, he violated a number of departmental policies that he had been trained in.

Police were called to Cup Foods, a convenience store, on May 25 after a cashier suspected that Floyd had used a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Arradondo said Monday that the offense Floyd was alleged to have committed would not typically result in someone's being taken into custody. Arrests, he said, are typically reserved for violent crimes. The statement called into question the officers' use of force. Police body camera video played in court last week showed that Lane initially approached Floyd with his gun drawn.

Arradondo was asked whether Exhibit 17 — a photo from the bystander video that shows Chauvin looking up at bystanders while he knelt on a seemingly anguished Floyd — was within police departmental policy 5-300, authorizing the use of reasonable force, and whether Chauvin had used an authorized neck restraint.

"A conscious neck restraint by policy mentions light to moderate pressure," he said. "When I look at Exhibit 17, and when I look at the facial expression of Mr. Floyd, that does not appear in any way, shape or form that that is light to moderate pressure."

Arradondo was also asked by Schleicher whether Chauvin followed department policy 5-304 regarding de-escalation, Arradondo said: "I absolutely do not agree with that."

Arradondo's testimony was followed by that of 5th Precinct Inspector Katie Blackwell. At the time of Floyd's death, Blackwell was the commander of the training division.

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Blackwell was shown the same photo from bystander video that depicts Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd's neck. She, too, said that the restraint, as depicted, violated departmental policies and that neck restraints were not taught.

"I don't know what kind of improvised position that is," Blackwell testified. "So that's not what we train."

Blackwell testified that she has known Chauvin for about 20 years.

Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell's opening statement last week forecast Arradondo's and Blackwell's testimony.

"He will not mince any words," Blackwell had said of Arradondo. "He is very clear. He'd be very decisive that this was excessive force."

Blackwell said Arradondo would testify that Chauvin's "conduct was not consistent" with the police department's training and policies.

Under cross-examination, Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, asked Arradondo when was the last time he had arrested a suspect. Arradondo said it had been "many years."

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Nelson also revisited a claim he made in his opening statement that the crowd of bystanders who observed Floyd's arrest — some of whom cursed at the officers and many of whom shouted at Chauvin to get off Floyd — had hampered Chauvin's ability to render aid.

Arradondo agreed with Nelson that force is sometimes necessary. He told Schleicher that training has vastly improved since he joined the force more than 30 years ago.