“I Cannot Breathe”

Elizabeth Bratton reports on the death of George Floyd, an African American man, who was killed after being pinned to the floor by police. His neck was crushed by an officer's knee, as he begged for water and complained of pain throughout his body. Floyd was unarmed, and was being detained for an alleged non-violent offence. Protests have erupted throughout the state of Minneapolis, although demonstrators have been met with flash grenades, tear gas, and riot control rounds.

Image credit: Lorie Shaull via Flickr

Four members of the Minneapolis police department have been fired after the death of George Floyd - an African American man. Video footage shows a white police officer restraining Floyd on the pavement, kneeling on the back of his neck. The unarmed 46 year-old can be heard to scream “I cannot breathe!” and “Don’t kill me!” According to the local police force, the incident took place at approximately 8pm on Monday, after they received a call about a man attempting to use counterfeit money at a local grocers. Authorities would not comment on the nature of the call, but claim that Floyd appeared intoxicated and resisted arrest. Police described how they “noticed” that Floyd was going into “medical distress”, after resisting arrest. He later died at a local hospital, having been pinned to the floor for a matter of minutes. The FBI have launched an investigation into the incident - the findings of which will be presented to the state attorney, and could potentially lead to federal charges.

Mayor Jacob Frey described the termination of the police officers’ contract as “the right call”; he later posted on Facebook: "Being black in America should not be a death sentence.” Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, criticised the police for having “treated him worse than they treat animals”. Mayor Frey has also insisted that the officers’ behaviour breaches department regulations, as they are not trained in restraining people in a chokehold. However, they are permitted to compress an individual’s neck, without compressing the suspect’s airway. This is considered a “non-deadly force option.” Minutes prior to his death, Floyd was complaining of pain in his stomach, his neck, and throughout his entire body.

Protestors gathered in Minneapolis on Tuesday, carrying signs which read “I cannot breathe,” while some chanted, “It could’ve been me.” Many protestors wore face masks, and attempted to adhere to social distancing guidelines. While the news of the officers’ firing has been welcomed, many believe that justice cannot truly be obtained until they are convicted in a court of law. At approximately 6pm, a smaller group began to march towards the building in which the officers worked. Here, windows were smashed and vehicles were covered in graffiti. Riot police then appeared on the scene, firing tear gas and launching flash grenades, while demonstrators threw rocks and water bottles, amongst other objects. One protestor recalled, “I got on my knees and I put up a peace sign and they tear gassed me.”

Minnesota state representative Sydney Jordan criticised a double standard in the police department’s behaviour. Earlier this month, anti-lockdown protestors gathered at the state capitol, bearing guns, yet the police allowed the demonstrations to continue uninterrupted. In contrast, Jordan notes, the majority of protestors on Tuesday maintained social distancing and covered their faces, yet it was them who were ambushed by tear gas.

Anecdotes of both racism and police brutality in the USA are rife, as parallels have been drawn to the death of Eric Garner - an unarmed black man who was killed by New York police in 2014, after being restrained in a chokehold. The 43 year-old shouted “I can’t breathe” eight times, before being pronounced dead in hospital. Garner’s last words have become a poignant slogan among the Black Lives Matter movement. In July 2019, five years after Garner’s death, Attorney General William P. Barr ordered that the case should be dropped, meaning Officer Pantaleo was never charged for using excessive force against the father of six. This decision led to widespread protests.

Earlier this month, 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery was killed by a retired police officer as he took his regular jog through Brunswick, Georgia. Properties in the local area had been trespassed upon and burgled by someone possibly identified as a black man; Gregory and Travis McMichael immediately assumed Arbery to be the perpetrator, and consequently shot him dead. Click here to read Tasfia Ahmad’s article about the murder.

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