Minneapolis, MN – A man named George Floyd died on Monday following police throwing him to the ground over his protests that he could not breathe. Now, the FBI is investigating Floyd’s death. A video (linked below) has surfaced showing a police officer digging a knee into Floyd’s back. The man can be heard pleading with the officer that he is unable to breathe.
In the video, Floyd screams and resists the officer’s hold for minutes. Bystanders plead with the officers to release him, as he is clearly in extreme distress. The video does not capture the events leading up to the arrest. The officers involved in the arrest claim that Floyd resisted arrest physically.
According to officers, they were responding to a call of a “forgery in progress.” Police were told that a nearby suspect was sitting on his car and appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Police claim that they found George Floyd in his car nearby and that he matched the description of the suspect. They further claim that he physically resisted arrest. Police do not describe what transpired next, except for stating that Floyd was handcuffed and died in a hospital a short time later.
The blatant violence used against the unarmed man in the video has led many to believe the officers’ actions were due to Floyd’s race.
Following the news of Floyd’s death, many criticized the Minneapolis police department for the incident. Amy Klobuchar, former presidential candidate and a senator from Minnesota, called the event “yet another horrifying and gut-wrenching instance of an African American man dying.”
The video of the incident makes it difficult for the officers involved to deny wrongdoing. Floyd is clearly calling for help and unable to breathe while they hold him down.
Four officers involved in the death of Floyd have been fired, effective immediately. The swiftness with which they were removed from their positions speaks to the public outcry over Floyd’s death.
The FBI is investigating the matter, as well as the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The case echoes the death of Eric Garner in 2014. Garner similarly died after excessively forceful police suffocated him. His last words, infamously, were “I can’t breathe.”
The seemingly endless incidents of police brutality have led to calls for widespread police reform. Some have called for protections like artificial intelligence technology to screen for potential red flags in police officers’ psychology while they’re on the job.
