George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, died in Minneapolis on Monday while being restrained by the police. Video footage showed an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he gasped for breath.
While the whole world is protesting against the cruel act of the police some of the people still doesn’t know the actual scenario, for them the details are explained below.
Floyd, a Minnesota resident, was arrested on Monday after he was accused of using a counterfeit $20 note at a local deli. According to the police, Floyd “physically resisted” the arrest after he was told to exit his car, a claim that was belied by mobile phone footage recorded by several passers-by. A white police officer then went on to restrain Floyd, and kneeled on his neck for at least seven minutes despite the 46-year-old gasping for breath and repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe”. The officer remained in that position even after Floyd became unconscious. His unresponsive body was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called the incident “public lynching without a rope.”
As of yesterday the social media broke with the #justiceforfloyd tag. Celebs, football players and many others bursted out and asked people if they are anti racist, this is the time to speak out. Footballers like Jaden Sancho and Hakimi of the Borussia Dortmund football team yesterday showed their support with justice for George Floyd written on their jerseys. David Beckham, Pique and many other popular footballers shouted out their support through their social media handle.
FC Barcelona added their statement in support of this violent activity by the police.
As of now the Four policemen have since been fired, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been called in to conduct a federal civil rights probe. Hennepin County’s prosecutor announced charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter against the fired Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin who pinned floyd down to the ground and killed him. Chauvin is being held in the Ramsey County jail on $500,000 bail. He is the first white officer in Minnesota to be criminally prosecuted in the death of a black civilian. The maximum sentence for third-degree murder is 25 years; the maximum for second-degree manslaughter is 10 years. WCCO-TV reported Chauvin’s wife, Kellie, will seek a divorce and published a statement attributed to her saying she is devastated by Floyd’s death.
The detailed video explanation of the incident related to George Floyd has been published by The Washington Post, which covers various video angles from the public CCTV footages and the actions by the police in different times and sitautions. The link of the whole video is given below:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/30/video-timeline-george-floyd-death/?arc404=true
