Medaria Arradondo, Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, asked the FBI to investigate the death of George Floyd after a video shared to social media of his arrest on Monday showed the knee of an officer on his throat. From the New York Times:
Chief Medaria Arradondo of the Minneapolis Police said at a news conference Tuesday that he had received information the night before that he “deemed necessary to contact the special agent in charge of the Minneapolis bureau of the F.B.I.”
If you haven’t seen the video yet, it’s really hard to watch:
Serious warning about the video circulating of Minneapolis PD killing George Floyd. The clarity with which you can see his pain and the cop's malice is overwhelming.
— austin walker (@austin_walker) May 26, 2020
Floyd says “I can’t breath” multiple times until he apparently lost consciousness:
Minneapolis Police kill a black man on 38th and Chicago.
He is screaming, “I can’t breathe” as police drive their knee on his throat for over three minutes. pic.twitter.com/1hhBLAqy8K
— Keaon Dousti کیان (@KeaonDousti) May 26, 2020
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said “this officer failed in the most basic human sense”:
"’Being black in America should not be a death sentence,’ Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. ‘When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help, and this officer failed in the most basic human sense.’” https://t.co/aridzpx9M2 #Minneapolis
— Chenue Her (@ChenueHer) May 26, 2020
And St. Paul Mayor Melvin Green called it “one of the most vile and heartbreaking images I’ve ever seen”:
The video of a Minneapolis police officer killing a defenseless, handcuffed man is one of the most vile and heartbreaking images I’ve ever seen. The officer who stood guard is just as responsible as his partner; both must be held fully accountable. This must stop now.
— Mayor Melvin Carter (@MayorCarter) May 26, 2020
Floyd’s family has retained Benjamin Crump to represent them:
We have been informed that the man killed by Minneapolis police was named George Floyd. #JusticeForFloyd #icantbreathe pic.twitter.com/76e3UA9JAK
— Benjamin Crump, Esq. (@AttorneyCrump) May 26, 2020
Crump’s statement:
Statement from @AttorneyCrump on the death of George Floyd, who died after an encounter with the Minneapolis police: “We all watched the horrific death of George Floyd on video as witnesses begged the police officer to take him into the police car and get off his neck.” pic.twitter.com/0eXNnx4Lvu
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) May 26, 2020
***
Update:
BREAKING: Four Minneapolis police officers fired after video shows a white officer kneeling on the neck of a black man who later died in custody, the mayor says. https://t.co/kV6YBoz23J
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 26, 2020
Join the conversation as a VIP Member