“The four Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been dismissed,” city mayor Jacob Frey said on Twitter, saying “it was the right decision.”
“Being black in the United States should not be a death sentence,” he said before at a press conference, saying it was okay for people to be angry.
On Tuesday, passers-by gathered and laid flowers at the place of the arrest, while others displayed posters imploring the police to “stop killing blacks”.
The scene, filmed Monday night for ten minutes by a passerby on Facebook Live, shows George Floyd, in his forties, tackled to the ground on his stomach by a policeman who immobilizes him with one knee on his neck.
The man complained for long minutes that he could not breathe and was in pain, while the agent, a white man, told him to stay calm. A second policeman keeps passersby away who start to get carried away when George Floyd does not move and seems unconscious.
“He is no longer breathing, he is no longer moving, take his pulse,” repeats a witness while the police wait for an ambulance which arrives after several minutes.
He was taken to a hospital where he died soon after.
A police spokesman said Monday evening that the man, who appeared to be intoxicated or drugged, resisted arrest by officers called for a minor crime.
It was after handcuffing him that the officer “realized the suspect was in medical distress” and called an ambulance, he said.
The case recalls that of Eric Garner, a black man who died after being suffocated during his arrest by white police in New York in 2014. The case had notably contributed to the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement (“The black lives account ”) and sparked a protest. Other deaths of blacks at the hands of the police had caused riots in the country.
New York and Los Angeles police have also banned controversial immobilization methods, such as tackles.
Prohibited techniques
George Floyd’s family lawyer Benjamin Crump denounced “excessive, excessive and inhuman use of force” for a “non-violent” crime, and called for an end to “racial profiling and (de) minimization black lives by the police. “
Crump is also a lawyer for relatives of Ahmaud Arbery, a black jogger killed by two whites in Georgia’s state in February, a case that recently sparked outrage after a video of the incident was released.
Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo has said an investigation will be launched by the federal police.
“We will fully cooperate with the FBI investigation,” he said. The cameras worn by the police, which were on, could clarify the circumstances of the arrest.
Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar welcomed the sacking of the four police officers, saying on Twitter that it was “a step in the right direction.” “Justice must be done,” said the former Democratic primary candidate.
The powerful civil rights association ACLU denounced “unjustified” police violence against people of color while strangulation immobilizations are “technically prohibited”.
“The public saw the video, calling it a” medical incident “is an insult,” added the ACLU.
The death in 2016 of a black motorist killed by a police officer during a mundane police check had already sparked controversy in Minnesota. Philando Castile, 32, was shot dead in front of his partner and a young girl in a shock sequence also filmed live.
– .
