Four officers from Minneapolis, Minnesota, have been fired after deliberately choking a black man named George Floyd to death during his arrest.

They were fired on Tuesday, only hours after a bystander’s video created widespread anger. This footage clearly showed one of the all-white officers kneeling on his neck and George pleading that he could not breathe.

“Being Black in America should not be a death sentence. For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a Black man’s neck. Five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense,”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, apologizing to the black community through a tweet.

Floyd’s death is now under investigation by the FBI and state law enforcement authorities. The case has been compared to the death of Eric Garner, a man who died unarmed in New York in 2014. Garner had been placed in a chokehold by a police officer and had also begged for his life, saying that he wasn’t being able to breathe.

George Floyd was reportedly being arrested because he matched the description of a suspect in a forgery case. The officer claimed he was resisting arrest. Floyd was repeating “Please, please, please, I can’t breathe. Please, man,” while handcuffed and pinned down by the neck.

After a few minutes, Floyd becomes motionless under the officer’s knew, however the policeman keeps his knee there for several more minutes.

There were many witnesses on the sidewalk, becoming increasingly anxious and telling the officer that Floyd needed to breathe, and repeating that they needed to see a pulse. Some witnesses recorded the scene on their phones.

Floyd’s family has since hired Ben Crump, a civil rights and personal injury attorney. He said that they watched his horrific death on video and saw his pleads. He also repeated how unnecessary the use of force was when Floyd was being detained by the police for a non-violent charge.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo has publicly said that the department will be conducting a thorough internal investigation. Experts have said it was obvious that the officer restrained Floyd for too long. The policemen were well aware he was completely under control and hat stopped fighting.

Floyd’s death has come in the midst of outrage over Ahmaud Arbery’s death, another innocent black man fatally shot earlier this year. In Ahmaud’s case, it took two months for the charges were brought up. Ben Crump also represents Arbery’s father.

Since Ahmaud Arbery’s case, there has been national conversation about the rush o judgement of unarmed black civilians. Just this Tuesday, a white woman named Amy Cooper called 911 on a black birdwatcher after he told her to leash her dog. Cooper told a dispatcher that he was threatening her life.

All footage of George Floyd being arrested has been turned over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who also asked to speak with anyone with the video on film or who was a witness to the event.

The agency has said that the officers are on paid administrative leave and that their names will be released after initial interviews with those involved as well as witnesses.

Per Minneapolis police’s request, the FBI is also conducting a separate federal civil rights investigation. ACLU, or The American Civil Liberties Union, was one of many organizations who was also calling for the officers to be held accountable.

In interviews that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Floyd’s family has said that they want to see the officer arrested for murder. Bridgett Floyd, George’s sister, has said that it is exactly what they did.

“For five minutes we watched as a white officer pressed his knee into the neck of a black man who was helpless. For five whole minutes. This was not a matter of a split-second poor decision.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey

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Link to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union:

https://www.aclu.org/how-you-can-help

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