A Minneapolis man was suffocated by the law. Protests are happening in the city. |
The eerie reminder of Eric Garner. Back in 2014, the New York Police Department placed Garner in a headlock and threw him to ground. He would be telling them, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe!" That would soon become a hashtag and a platform for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Now in the year 2020, we have seen the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed and now George Floyd.
Floyd becomes another hashtag and another discussion about how police treat people of color.
A minor offense leads to a man's death. The Minneapolis Police immediately fires the cop who placed his knee on the neck of the restrained man and three others who allowed it to happen.
If it wasn't for a young woman filming this would not have gotten much attention.
The U.S. Justice Department and FBI are not working with the Minnesota State Police and Investigation Unit to determine if any consequences will happen. From what I see, it's involuntary manslaughter by the cop and his buddies were supporting it. If it wasn't for people recording this encounter, you would have not heard about it.
So many people of color are being killed by the law. Only a handful of these issues get into the heads of Americans. Obviously S. Lee Merritt and Benjamin Crump are involved in this. They have a whole lot of cases going on right now.
The city of Minneapolis is also home to Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). I am fed-up with Ellison and Omar for their embracing of the Bernie Bros.
The two Muslim American lawmakers are progressive and civil rights activists.
Jacob Frey condemns the actions of the police. |
Omar is facing a tough primary challenger and a Black Republican who is cooning for Donald J. Trump. Omar, one of the two Muslim American lawmakers has pissed off Democrats by embracing the Tara Reade controversy. She is losing my support for that.
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said the technique used to pin George Floyd's head to the ground was against department regulations.
Officers responding to an alleged forgery in progress Monday evening were initially told that a person later described as the suspect was sitting on a car and appeared to be under the influence, police said.
Four police officers are fired out the cannon for this encounter. |
After several minutes of pleading with an officer pressing a knee to the back of his neck, the man appeared motionless, his eyes shut, his head against the pavement.
Frey, speaking during a town hall streamed on Facebook, said the officer had no reason to employ the hold on the man's neck.
"The technique that was used is not permitted; is not a technique that our officers get trained in on," he said. "And our chief has been very clear on that piece. There is no reason to apply that kind of pressure with a knee to someone's neck."
The video shows two officers by the man on the ground -- one of them with his knee over the back of the man's neck. The video did not capture what led up to the arrest or what police described as the man resisting arrest.
"Please, I can't breathe," the man said, screaming for several minutes before he became silent.
Bystanders urged the officer to release the man from his hold.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, in a statement, identified the man as Floyd and said he was representing his family. The mayor also identified him on Twitter.
"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," Crump said. "This 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."
Floyd's cause and manner of death remains pending and is being investigated by local, state and federal law enforcement, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said in a statement.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) via Twitter called the incident "yet another horrifying and gutwrenching instance of an African American man dying."
My statement on the officer-involved death in Minneapolis: pic.twitter.com/HUoGfXEj7R— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 26, 2020
Others included:
George Floyd deserved better and his family deserves justice. His life mattered.— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 27, 2020
I'm grateful for the swift action in Minneapolis to fire the officers involved — they must be held responsible for their egregious actions. The FBI should conduct a thorough investigation. https://t.co/n1tdiUba0x
Police brutality must end.— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) May 27, 2020
Today, I led a letter with @SenAmyKlobuchar @SenTinaSmith and @BettyMcCollum04 calling for an investigation into the death of George Floyd at the state, county, and federal levels.
We must pursue justice and get answers to this unjust killing. pic.twitter.com/G6a8IXFx26
If you’re unbothered or mildly bothered by the 1st knee, but outraged by the 2nd, then, in my father’s words, you’re “more devoted to order than to justice.” And more passionate about an anthem that supposedly symbolizes freedom than you are about a Black man’s freedom to live. pic.twitter.com/kxpVOEeTNR— Be A King (@BerniceKing) May 26, 2020
No more hashtags. Stop killing Black folks in our country.— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 26, 2020
When we start charging folks with murder and hate crimes is when we will have justice.
To help prevent tragedies like what happened to #GeorgeFloyd, we need more reporting on officer-involved shootings. I’ve introduced my Walter Scott Notification Act multiple times, & I hope this horrific killing shows once again the importance of my bill. https://t.co/am4HJbwv7i— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) May 26, 2020
I'm outraged at the tragedy that took place yesterday in Minneapolis as once again a black man died at the hands of the police. George Floyd should be alive today. We can’t look away while such injustice continues — accountability is a must. https://t.co/9yXGL4xzRv— Tina Smith (@TinaSmithMN) May 26, 2020
Here's the sad reality: what happened to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery & Christian Cooper has gone on for generations to Black Americans. Cell phones just made it more visible.— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 26, 2020
Dismantling systemic racism in our nation starts with demanding justice & holding offenders accountable.
George Floyd should be alive today. The officers who killed him must be brought to justice. We should—we must, if we are to survive as a nation—change this familiar and gruesome reality. In the words of Fannie Lou Hamer, we’re “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Enough. https://t.co/C6AcXypv7v— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 27, 2020
The lack of humanity in this disturbing video is sickening. We will get answers and seek justice. https://t.co/OtDlapBlAK— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 26, 2020
My remarks delivered earlier this morning and video below. https://t.co/qC2IgWdm1T pic.twitter.com/XWXhSygaCY— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) May 26, 2020
Frey on Tuesday offered his condolences to the man's family, adding that "what we saw was horrible, completely and utterly messed up."
"For five minutes, we watched as a white officer pressed his knee to the neck of a black man," Frey told reporters.
The incident happened at Cup Grocery and a Speedway gas station. |
"Being black in America," Frey said, should not be "a death sentence."
The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis said in a statement the officers were cooperating in the investigation.
"Now is not the time rush to (judgment) and immediately condemn our officers," the statement said.
"Officers' actions and training protocol will be carefully examined after the officers have provided their statements."
In a Facebook video posted Monday, bystanders urged the officer to get off the man. Two officers handled the man on the ground while another stood nearby with his eyes on the bystanders as traffic passed in the background.
A dirty cop placing his knee on the neck of George Floyd. |
At one point the man said, "Give me some water or something. Please. Please."
"His nose is bleeding," a woman said of the man.
"He's not even resisting arrest," one man said. "He's not responding right now, bro."
Frey said he understood the anger in the community but reminded potential protesters that "there is another danger out there right now which is COVID-19."
"We need to make sure that everyone that is protesting and that is voicing their opinion stays safe and their families are protected as well," he said. "So please, practice safe distancing, please use a mask."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted Tuesday, "The lack of humanity in this disturbing video is sickening. We will get answers and seek justice."
Medaria Arradondo said the actions of those four cops killed an innocent man. |
"The officer who stood guard is just as responsible as his partner; both must be held fully accountable," Carter tweeted. "This must stop now."
Paige Fernandez, policing policy adviser for the ACLU, said the incident recalled the 2014 New York death of Eric Garner, who repeated "I can't breathe" several times after a police officer held him in a chokehold. Garner died during the arrest, the incident also caught on video.
"Even in places like Minneapolis, where chokeholds are technically banned, Black people are targeted by the police for low-level offenses and are subjected to unreasonable, unnecessary violence," Fernandez said in a statement. "Make no mistake: George Floyd should be alive today. The officers responsible must be held accountable."
Body worn cameras were activated during the incident, police said.
Protests are to continue in Minneapolis and St. Paul. |
Look at his history with police....
Blah, blah, blah....
Moments of silence, street memorials, naming of public places, saying "Your heart goes out to...," lowering of flags and hashtags are platitudes. They are a huge waste of time. It's a man-made crisis created by a lazy ass government.
Don't you just want to scream!?
Scream in the faces of these damn lawmakers whenever they offer their "thoughts and prayers" to every fucking mass shooting in the United States. They will offer their condolences and say a word vomit how they sympathize with the deceased. Some here will tell us that "now isn't the time to talk."
We will talk about this for a few days and then we're off to another controversy. The next controversy would either be something done by Trump, a politician, an entertainer or we will experience another mass shooting. The next mass shooting will be even worse than the last one.
George's life mattered. |
I repeat myself over and over again! I use the same old copy and paste. I hear the same trolls saying that there's nothing we can do. I keep hearing "concern" trolls telling us that it's their own fault for their own deaths.
FOR EVERY BAD COP, THERE WILL BE A DEAD COP!
I DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING ON THE INTERNET OR THE COP'S VERSION.
GUN VIOLENCE IS THE NUMBER ONE THREAT IN THE UNITED STATES.
THERE IS NO GOD!
GOD IS NOT FIXING THIS!
We haven't forgotten about the many mass shootings in the United States. COVID-19 doesn't stop individuals from picking up firearms and killing others.
If a grand jury decides to prosecute the cop involved in the death of George Floyd, he will be criminally charged with involuntary manslaughter and it carries at least 20 years in the iron college.
The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Do you believe that the media portrays Black suspects in a negative light?
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