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Capitol Hill. — In a dramatic moment in the crisis over race and policing, George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, testified yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee on reform proposals, following his death in the custody of Minneapolis officers that triggered national outrage.

Delivering his opening remarks to the House judiciary committee for the hearing on police brutality, Floyd described the pain of watching the video of his brother’s murder, which showed a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

“He was our gentle giant. I was reminded of that when I watched the video of his murder,” Floyd said of his brother. “He was mild mannered; he didn’t fight back. He listened to the officers. He called them ‘sir.’ The men who took his life, who suffocated him for eight minutes and 46 seconds. He still called them ‘sir’ as he begged for his life.

“I can’t tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother, who you’ve looked up to your whole life, die. Die begging for your mom.”

Floyd implored the lawmakers to make sure that his brother’s death sparked meaningful change. “I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired,” Floyd said.

In his opening remarks to the House judiciary committee, Floyd noted that the police were originally called against George Floyd because he allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill. “George wasn’t hurting anyone that day,” Floyd said of his brother. “He didn’t deserve to die over twenty dollars. I am asking you, is that what a black man’s life is worth? Twenty dollars? This is 2020. Enough is enough.” — The Guardian.