United States: police station burned down in Minnesota after George Floyd’s death

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Protests had previously been largely peaceful, with crowds contained by chains of uniformed men. But there were clashes, with the looting of about thirty stores and fires, and the use of tear gas by the police at the police station where the police officers involved are working.

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The parade began in the late afternoon, with many demonstrators wearing masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus, while in the nearby town of Saint Paul police reported damage and theft. “We know there is a lot of anger. We know that there are a lot of injuries. But we cannot tolerate that some people use it as an opportunity to commit crimes,” lamented the director of the police. this town, Todd Axtel.

Minnesota State Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order authorizing the intervention of the National Guard. Two hundred state police officers, as well as helicopters, are also to be dispatched. “The death of Gorge Floyd must bring justice and fundamental reforms, not more death and destruction,” he said in a statement.

“I can not breath anymore”

The 46-year-old African-American died Monday evening just after being arrested by the police, who suspected him of wanting to sell a fake $ 20 bill. During the operation, he was pinned to the ground by an officer who kept his knee on his neck for long minutes. “I can no longer breathe,” we hear him say on a recording of the scene, which has gone viral.

President Donald Trump “was outraged when he saw the video” of this “heinous, tragic” drama, spokesman Kayleigh McEnany said. “He immediately picked up his phone” to make sure the FBI investigation proceeded quickly, she continued: “He wants justice done.”

The four agents involved have been fired and local and federal authorities are investigating the tragedy. But no charges have yet taken place, fueling anger and frustration.

“These police officers, they must be stopped immediately” declared Philonise Floyd on CNN, demanding, between two sobs, the death penalty for those responsible for the death of her brother. “Everyone is in pain, that’s why this is all happening. I’m sick of black men dying,” he added. “I wish they [les manifestants] be peaceful but I can’t force them, it’s hard. ”

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Like him, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has made the link with a series of other tragedies that have revived racial wounds in the United States. “This is the latest in a long series of murders of unarmed African Americans committed by American police officers” and ordinary citizens, said Michelle Bachelet in a statement. “US authorities must take serious action to end these killings, and to ensure justice is done when they occur.”

The case recalls in particular the death of Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 in New York after being asphyxiated during his arrest by white police. He too had said at the time “I can not breathe”, a phrase that has become a rallying cry of the Black Lives Matter movement (“Black lives matter”).

Minnesota was also marked by the death in 2016 of a black motorist, Philando Castile, shot dead during a banal police check in front of his partner and a little girl.

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