4 Minneapolis Cops Fired Over Lynching of George Floyd, Family Lawyers Up
*Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired following the lynching of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck while he was handcuffed on the ground, and pleading: “Please, I can’t breathe.”
Police say they were reporting to a “forgery in progress.”
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced the termination of the four officers during a news conference on Tuesday (May 26). He did not publicly name them but two of the cops seen in the video were identified on social media as officers Derek Chauvin (left) and Tou Thao, per SandraRose.com.
“It is the right decision for our city,” Mayor Jacob Frey said. “We’ve stated our values and ultimately we need to live by them.”
“Please man, I can’t breathe,” Floyd says to officer Chauvin in the video that circulated on social media. “I cannot breathe. I cannot breathe.”
Floyd was murdered by the officers after a store clerk reportedly called the cops on him for trying to write a bad check.
The video, filmed by Facebook user Darnella Frazier, shows Floyd losing consciousness as he pleads for his life. But the wicked officer keeps his knee on Floyd’s neck, even as concerned onlookers note that he’s no longer moving.
“The officer stayed in position, with his body weight on Floyd’s neck, for four more minutes after Floyd stopped moving at all. At one point, the officer brandished pepper spray at bystanders who were pleading with police to stop,” wrote the ACLU on Twitter.”
Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump has been retained by Floyd’s family to represent them in a lawsuit against the department, Huff Post reports.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
“We will seek justice for the family of George Floyd, as we demand answers from the Minnesota Police Department,” he added. “How many ‘white black’ deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?”
The FBI is now investigating.