SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Video footage posted online showed a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the back of a handcuffed man's neck as he struggled to breathe. (Photo: Screengrab/Facebook via The Washington Post)
'They Killed This Man': Video Shows Minneapolis Cop Kneeling on Black Man's Neck as Onlookers Warn He's Being Crushed to Death
"The police killed him, bro, right in front of everybody. He was crying, telling them like, 'I can't breathe,' and everything. They did not care."
May 26, 2020
Video footage posted to social media Tuesday morning shows a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the back of a handcuffed black man's neck as he struggles to breathe and onlookers repeatedly warn the cop he is crushing the man to death.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement Monday night that the man--who was identified Tuesday as George Floyd--died of an unspecified "medical incident" shortly after being transported to a local hospital, but eye-witnesses described the incident as outright murder.
"It is sickening to watch this black man be killed while helplessly begging for help. Black lives matter isn't just a chant, it's call for justice. It's a call for our humanity to be recognized. This must stop."
--Rep. Ilhan Omar
"The police killed him, bro, right in front of everybody," said Darnella Frazier, who filmed the incident and posted a 10-minute clip on Facebook. "He was crying, telling them like, 'I can't breathe,' and everything. They did not care... They killed this man."
Floyd repeatedly says in the video that he cannot breathe as an officer keeps one knee on the back of his neck, forcing the victim to remain sprawled out face-first on the asphalt. The Minneapolis Police Department said the officers were responding to a "forgery in progress" and claimed Floyd "physically resisted officers."
"He's talking, he's fine," one of the officers on the scene says as bystanders plead in the video with the other cop to take his knee off Floyd's neck.
"You're fucking stopping his breathing there, bro," replies one witness. Floyd eventually lost consciousness, but the officer continued kneeling on his neck until an ambulance arrived minutes later.
Watch [warning, the footage is graphic and may be disturbing to witness]:
National civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement Tuesday that he has been retained to represent the Floyd family.
"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," said Crump. "This abusive, excessive, and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by 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. How many 'while black' deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?"
Minnesota authorities and the FBI are investigating the incident as the video continues to spread on social media, sparking widespread outcry and demands for justice.
"My heart is breaking for the tragic loss of life last night near 38th and Chicago," Minneapolis City Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins, who represents the neighborhood where the incident took place, said in a statement. "Our community continues to be traumatized again, and again, and again. We must demand answers."
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted that "it is sickening to watch this black man be killed while helplessly begging for help."
" Black lives matter isn't just a chant, it's call for justice," said Omar. "It's a call for our humanity to be recognized. This must stop."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Video footage posted to social media Tuesday morning shows a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the back of a handcuffed black man's neck as he struggles to breathe and onlookers repeatedly warn the cop he is crushing the man to death.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement Monday night that the man--who was identified Tuesday as George Floyd--died of an unspecified "medical incident" shortly after being transported to a local hospital, but eye-witnesses described the incident as outright murder.
"It is sickening to watch this black man be killed while helplessly begging for help. Black lives matter isn't just a chant, it's call for justice. It's a call for our humanity to be recognized. This must stop."
--Rep. Ilhan Omar
"The police killed him, bro, right in front of everybody," said Darnella Frazier, who filmed the incident and posted a 10-minute clip on Facebook. "He was crying, telling them like, 'I can't breathe,' and everything. They did not care... They killed this man."
Floyd repeatedly says in the video that he cannot breathe as an officer keeps one knee on the back of his neck, forcing the victim to remain sprawled out face-first on the asphalt. The Minneapolis Police Department said the officers were responding to a "forgery in progress" and claimed Floyd "physically resisted officers."
"He's talking, he's fine," one of the officers on the scene says as bystanders plead in the video with the other cop to take his knee off Floyd's neck.
"You're fucking stopping his breathing there, bro," replies one witness. Floyd eventually lost consciousness, but the officer continued kneeling on his neck until an ambulance arrived minutes later.
Watch [warning, the footage is graphic and may be disturbing to witness]:
National civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement Tuesday that he has been retained to represent the Floyd family.
"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," said Crump. "This abusive, excessive, and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by 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. How many 'while black' deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?"
Minnesota authorities and the FBI are investigating the incident as the video continues to spread on social media, sparking widespread outcry and demands for justice.
"My heart is breaking for the tragic loss of life last night near 38th and Chicago," Minneapolis City Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins, who represents the neighborhood where the incident took place, said in a statement. "Our community continues to be traumatized again, and again, and again. We must demand answers."
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted that "it is sickening to watch this black man be killed while helplessly begging for help."
" Black lives matter isn't just a chant, it's call for justice," said Omar. "It's a call for our humanity to be recognized. This must stop."
From Your Site Articles
Video footage posted to social media Tuesday morning shows a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the back of a handcuffed black man's neck as he struggles to breathe and onlookers repeatedly warn the cop he is crushing the man to death.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement Monday night that the man--who was identified Tuesday as George Floyd--died of an unspecified "medical incident" shortly after being transported to a local hospital, but eye-witnesses described the incident as outright murder.
"It is sickening to watch this black man be killed while helplessly begging for help. Black lives matter isn't just a chant, it's call for justice. It's a call for our humanity to be recognized. This must stop."
--Rep. Ilhan Omar
"The police killed him, bro, right in front of everybody," said Darnella Frazier, who filmed the incident and posted a 10-minute clip on Facebook. "He was crying, telling them like, 'I can't breathe,' and everything. They did not care... They killed this man."
Floyd repeatedly says in the video that he cannot breathe as an officer keeps one knee on the back of his neck, forcing the victim to remain sprawled out face-first on the asphalt. The Minneapolis Police Department said the officers were responding to a "forgery in progress" and claimed Floyd "physically resisted officers."
"He's talking, he's fine," one of the officers on the scene says as bystanders plead in the video with the other cop to take his knee off Floyd's neck.
"You're fucking stopping his breathing there, bro," replies one witness. Floyd eventually lost consciousness, but the officer continued kneeling on his neck until an ambulance arrived minutes later.
Watch [warning, the footage is graphic and may be disturbing to witness]:
National civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement Tuesday that he has been retained to represent the Floyd family.
"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," said Crump. "This abusive, excessive, and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by 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. How many 'while black' deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?"
Minnesota authorities and the FBI are investigating the incident as the video continues to spread on social media, sparking widespread outcry and demands for justice.
"My heart is breaking for the tragic loss of life last night near 38th and Chicago," Minneapolis City Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins, who represents the neighborhood where the incident took place, said in a statement. "Our community continues to be traumatized again, and again, and again. We must demand answers."
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted that "it is sickening to watch this black man be killed while helplessly begging for help."
" Black lives matter isn't just a chant, it's call for justice," said Omar. "It's a call for our humanity to be recognized. This must stop."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.