George Floyd protests: Whoopi Goldberg urges looters to stop and condemns police brutality

'If civilians are harmed in your custody, the same way police officers are hit, there should be consequences'

Whoopi Goldberg has posted a video suggesting that killing a civilian should have the same consequences as killing a police officer as a way of preventing police brutality.

The 64-year-old argued that the change in law could “level the playing field” between the police and black people.

“Every criminal knows if you injure a cop, if you shoot a cop, if you hurt a cop, there are huge consequences,” said Goldberg. “But I wonder if we could change that so that if a civilian dies in your custody it is the same as shooting a cop.

She continued: “If civilians are harmed in your custody, the same way police officers are hit, there should be consequences.

“Mostly because if there are ways for us to level the playing field because people feel like if your are criminal I can take you in the back and rough you up, beat you up. And maybe they’ll think twice in the way that they do it and maybe they’ll find a different way to do it.

“If there’s a change in how people deal with the police it should be because we are on equal footing.”

The View co-host also called for an end to the looting and arson.

“People are coming out and saying ‘You know, this is enough. Enough is enough.’ Parents, moms and dads are walking with their kids, which is another reason why all you looters, you need to stop because you’ve destroyed too many people’s dreams around the country,” Goldberg said. “You have made it impossible for a lot of people to get back to their lives.”

“Just know your grandmother, your mother’s mother, your brother’s sister… can’t get their medication because you burnt down the pharmacy or burnt down the bus stop.”

Peaceful protests, as well as scenes of looting and arson, have occurred in Minnesota and Kentucky in recent days following the killing of George Floyd.