Saint Paul police chief condemns tactics used on George Floyd: 'We're here to serve -- not choke people!'

Saint Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell told CNN's Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow on Thursday that he's showing his officers footage from George Floyd's death as an example of how not to handle a suspect.

In particular, Axtell told the CNN hosts that all of the officers in his department said that the actions of the officers in Minneapolis to Floyd were completely unacceptable.

"Every police officer that I know that I interacted with yesterday in the city of Saint Paul, there was not one who felt that what they observed on that video in Minneapolis was in any way, shape, or form acceptable police behavior," he said. "It is disgusting, it is dehumanizing, it is something that absolutely has to stop."

Axtell then issued a challenge to police officers across the country to remember that their purpose is to protect and serve their cities and communities.

"I want to challenge all of our officers, not just in the Saint Paul Police Department, but throughout this country to really check our humanity, really check back on why we became police officers in the first place," he said. "We're here to protect people. We're here to serve people. We are here to be the guardians of our community, not to choke people."

Watch the video below.