The mayor of Minneapolis is calling for charges against the white police officer who knelt on the neck of 46-year-old George Floyd, a black man who died Monday…
The mayor of Minneapolis is calling for charges against the white police officer who knelt on the neck of 46-year-old George Floyd, a black man who died Monday after being restrained.
« Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail? » Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a press conference Wednesday. « If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now. »
The mayor did not specify what the charge should be but said that his determination was based on video of the incident.
The horrifying video spread quickly on social media Tuesday, showing the officer driving his knee into Floyd’s neck as herepeatedly says he can’t breathe.
« We are not talking about a split-second decision that was made incorrectly, » Frey said. « There’s somewhere around 300 seconds in those five minutes, every one of which the officer could have turned back… and removed his knee from George Floyd’s neck. »
Thousands of protesters demanding justice for Floyd gathered at the intersection where Floyd was restrained. They marched to a city police precinct before clashing with officers late Tuesday.
Four officers involved in the Monday incident have been fired, and Floyd’s family and their attorney, Ben Crump, have called for their arrests. Police identified the officers Wednesday as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng. Attorney Tom Kelly said he was representing Chauvin, the officer seen with his knee on Floyd’s neck.
Here’s what we know Wednesday:
Chants of « I can’t breathe » filled Minneapolis’ streets Tuesday night as a crowd of protesters gathered near the intersection where Floyd died. The group marched 2½ miles to a police precinct.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the protest began peacefully but escalated in tension as the demonstrates reached the building.
Some protesters damaged windows and a police squad car while others sprayed painted graffiti.
Officers in riot gear fired tear gas and projectiles at the crowd who threw back water bottles and rocks, the Star Tribune reported.
The crowd fled to nearby businesses, including a Target, where some protesters created a barricade with shopping carts. The Star Tribune reported that the store temporarily closed, and the protesters largely dispersed by 9 p.m.
Crump, the lawyer for Floyd’s family, released a statement Wednesday calling for peaceful protests and social distancing. « We cannot sink to the level of our oppressors, and we must not endanger others during this pandemic, » he wrote.
Bridgett Floyd, George Floyd’s sister, told NBC’s « Today » show that the four officers in the video should be charged with murder.
« I would like for those officers to be charged with murder because that’s exactly what they did. They murdered my brother; he was crying for help, » Floyd said Wednesday.
Floyd added that she had faith that the officers would be charged but said their firing wasn’t enough.
« I don’t need them to be suspended and able to work in another state or another county.
