#BlackLivesMatter: Black Man Dies After Being Pinned Down By White Police Officers (Video)

George Floyd

The Federal Bureau of Investigation will probe the death of a black man who died shortly after being apprehended by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after disturbing video emerged on social media showing a police officer with his knee on the man’s neck as the man repeatedly yells out, “I can’t breathe.”

“I can’t breathe, please, the knee in my neck,” the man, identified as George Floyd, said in a video showing a police officer pinning him to the ground. “I can’t move … my neck … I’m through, I’m through.”

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The Minneapolis Police Department announced Tuesday morning that the FBI will be a part of the investigation into the death. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said Tuesday morning that the officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid leave and he pledged the department’s full cooperation with any investigations.


Later Tuesday, the mayor of Minneapolis tweeted that all four responding officers involved in the incident have been terminated.

“Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “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.”

Frey called the incident “awful” and “traumatic,” saying, “it serves as a reminder of how far we have to go.”

In a statement on Facebook, Frey added that, “I believe what I saw and what I saw is wrong on every level. To our Black community, to the family: I’m so sorry,” he wrote.

Police did not identify the man who died, but Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing his family, said he was George Floyd.

“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?”

Photo Credit: Getty

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