Minneapolis has seen it’s second night of clashes following the death of George Floyd
Members of the public who filmed Mr Floyd’s detaining were shocked by the the police officers ignoring Mr Floyd’s pleas to be able to breathe, and they themselves are heard pleading with the police officers to allow Mr Floyd to breathe as he eventually lost consciousness, then became unresponsive and died. The video below is shocking and has been seen worldwide as one of the most sickening examples of police brutality and misconduct.
So far the police officers have all been sacked from their positions in the police department. Today Derek Chauvin has been arrested and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced he has been charged with murder and manslaughter, with the charges scheduled to be released shortly.
It’s been also been reported by a local business owner, that both George Floyd and Derek Chauvin may have worked in the same gym building last year on different shifts – but there is no information if they knew each other.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig has called the Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd a “cowardly officer” who “committed murder,” and called for his immediate arrest.
“Probable cause clearly existed, that that officer – that cowardly officer – committed murder” .
Barack Obama has called for a “new normal” in the treatment of black people as protests rage in wider areas of the US over the killing.
The former US president said that in the wake of lockdown restriction in the US following COVID-19 it is natural for things to return to normal, but he said for millions of Americans “being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly is ‘normal’ “.
The Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, held a press conference where whilst accepting the anger he understood local residents felt about the death of Mr Floyd called on the people to stop rioting in order to allow the public services and emergency services, including police, to regain normality to then seek justice lawfully for Mr Floyd’s death.
