photo credit: Halfpoint // Shutterstock
After the video of George Floyd being killed by a police officer who had his knee in Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes, cutting off his airways, protests erupted in Minneapolis.
In the video, Floyd continues to tell the officer that he cannot breathe. The crowd watching the incident take place continues to tell the cops Floyd cannot breathe and eventually Floyd stops moving.
All four officers involved have been fired. The Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey held a press conference apologizing to the Floyd family and to the black community, saying “being black in America should not be a death sentence.” Adding that Floyd should not have died.
He goes on to say, “When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense.” Frey added, “All I keep coming back to is this: this man should not have died.”
The Police Dept. added, “At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in this incident.” What the P.D. did not address is the video.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo also came to the podium and backed up what the Mayor said. He also implied the knee technique was not one sanctioned or taught at the police academy there. The FBI has now joined the investigation.
“..we riot because you don’t hear us when we march..” I stand with the city of Minneapolis! #JusticeForFloyd #RIPGeorgeFloyd #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/WLDRpfJE7U
— Jerome Trammel (@MrJeromeTrammel) May 27, 2020