Connecticut has joined the list of state governments around the nation officially responding to the May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, with Chief State's Attorney Richard J. Colangelo releasing a public statement late Monday, following two weeks of nationwide protests against police abuse of people of color.

Colangelo said he "would generally refrain" from commenting on the actions of police in other states, but that the Floyd tragedy, in which the victim died while pinned to the street by his neck under an officer's knee, called for a response from his office.

"The actions of those officers are reprehensible, heart-wrenching, and criminal," Colangelo stated. "There is nothing to defend. There is nothing to debate. I share in the sadness and outrage of those here and across the country."