Minneapolis police use tear gas to disperse crowds protesting George Floyd's death

Ellena Cruse28 May 2020

Thousands of people flooded the streets last night to demand justice over the death of a black man, who died in police custody following an altercation with officers.

Four Minneapolis police officers were fired on Tuesday after footage emerged of the man, later identified as George Floyd, lying face down in the street, gasping for air and groaning while a white officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

In the footage, Mr Floyd is heard shouting "I can't breathe" and "Don't kill me."

Hours after the officers’ dismissals were announced, thousands of protesters, many wearing face masks, filled the streets close to the scene where the incident took place on Monday.

But the gathering took an unruly turn as police in riot gear fired tear gas into the crowds. Protesters responded by hurling water bottles and other items, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

George Floyd Protests - In pictures

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Local news footage showed some demonstrators vandalising the outside of a police precinct station and a squad car. The unrest appeared to dissipate after dark as rain fell.

The day began with Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo telling reporters that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had opened an inquiry at his request into the fatal arrest caught on video the night before.

Shawanda Hill, the girlfriend of George Floyd, is comforted by another woman
AFP via Getty Images

Mayor Jacob Frey said at the same news briefing that, regardless of the investigation’s outcome, it was clear the death of the man in custody was unjustified, and that race was a factor.

“Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” the mayor said. “For five minutes we watched as a white police officer pressed his knee into the neck of a black man. For five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help.”

Police fire tear gas at the crowds
Getty Images

The mayor later announced the termination of four officers on Twitter, saying, “This is the right call.”

The case drew comparisons with the 2014 killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man in New York City, who died after being put in a police chokehold and telling the officers “I can’t breathe.”

Police fired bean-bag rounds into the crowd
AP

The officers involved in Monday’s encounter were responding to a report of a forgery in progress, and found a man fitting the suspect’s description, aged in his 40s, in a car, according to a police department account.

After asking Mr Floyd to get out of the car, there was a physical altercation and the suspect was handcuffed, police said.

The street where Mr Floyd died was filled with protestors
AP

He appeared to be in medical distress, the department said.

The mobile phone footage, taken by an onlooker, does not show what came before the confrontation. It opens with Mr Floyd lying beside the rear wheel of a vehicle, with a white officer pinning him to the street by pressing a knee into Mr Floyd’s neck.

A woman holds a sign during the march
AFP via Getty Images

Mr Floyd can be heard repeatedly moaning and gasping while he pleads, “Please, I can’t breathe, please, man,” as bystanders gather around, growing increasingly agitated and shouting at police to let him up. After several minutes, Mr Floyd gradually grows quiet and ceases to move.

An ambulance took the suspect to the hospital, where he died a short time later, police said. No weapons were involved, and no officers were hurt in the incident, according to police.

Police descend upon the protest
AP

In the case of Mr Garner, he was placed in a banned chokehold by a white police officer trying to arrest him for illegally selling loose cigarettes on the street.

His dying words, “I can’t breathe,” became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement calling attention to a wave of African-Americans and other minorities who died at the hands of police using unjustified lethal force.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, retained by Mr Floyd’s family, said in a statement that officers’ “abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.”

Agencies have contributed to this report.

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