- 4 Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s shooting, who was seen crying “I can’t breathe” while an officer put a knee on his throat, have been killed, says Mayor Frey of Minneapolis.
Four Minneapolis police officers were shot Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after George Floyd ‘s violent arrest left him dead.
“It is the right decision,” said Mayor Jacob Frey on Facebook after Police Chief Medaria Arradondo confirmed the firings.
Two police, identified as Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, were filmed Monday night on Chicago Avenue South’s 3700 block, arresting a man later identified as Floyd.
It’s not certain if Chauvin and Thao are two of the officers who were killed.
The 10-minute video, widely circulated on social media, shows a white officer kneeling at the top of Floyd ‘s neck as he cries, “I can’t breathe.”
“My stomach is burning. My back is burning. It’s all hurt, “he says. “Water or something, please, please. I can’t breathe that way.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that the officers had been summoned to forgery in the case about 8 p.m. Monday, with a suspect “sitting on top of a blue car and looking to be under control,” although he may not have explained the precise essence of the call until the Daily News arrived.
Two officers arrived at the scene and, according to the police, found Floyd sitting in his car. He got out and, according to the MPD, “physically resisted officers.”
Frey called for a full investigation into the arrest, and both the Minnesota Criminal Apprehension Bureau and the FBI were called in.
Four officers were fired after the death of an unarmed black man who had been taken into custody in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey announced on Twitter.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said that four officers are now “former employees” of the Department, reports CBS Minnesota. Frey said the “right decision” was the shooting.
The death of a man named by a family lawyer as George Floyd attracted outrage after the video showed an cop lying on Floyd’s back while he screamed out he couldn’t breathe. Floyd was held outside the deli on suspicion of forgery. He died in a hospital later.
Arradondo did not identify the retired policemen, reports the station.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Frey said that what happened was “error at any point.”
“This does not reflect the principles that Chief Arradondo has worked hard to instill. It does not represent the preparation we have invested in or the steps we have taken to ensure transparency. Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” Frey said.
The lawyer representing Floyd ‘s family called it abusive and excessive. The police union has warned against a rush to a verdict.
