“I Can’t Breathe, Officer”- Handcuffed Man Dies After Police Officer Knelt on His Neck

WARNING: Distressing content ahead

The Internet has been in an uproar with a very upsetting video of a white policeman kneeling on a black man’s neck who later died in the hospital.

“I can’t breathe, officer.”

The victim has since been identified as George Floyd. In the video, George can be seen pinned down with a knee to the neck by a police officer. It is apparent that he is in a lot of pain and suffering.

He kept repeating: “I can’t breathe, officer” but the officer paid no heed to his cries. The officer just asked him to relax and ordered him to stand up.

Of course, George could not stand up as there was an entire human putting weight on his neck and he was handcuffed. George could only repeat these words while groaning,

“I can’t breathe, officer.”

They kept ordering him to get up and get into the police car but the officer on top of George would not budge. George later told them that everything hurts and requested for some water. The plea fell onto deaf ears while his groans increase in volume.

Passersby started questioning the officers for what they were doing and one of them noted that his nose has started bleeding. More and more people came to criticise the officers for their excessive use of force and one officer attempted to diverge the topic by saying

“This is why you don’t do drugs, kids.”

The officer refused to move despite the public’s pleas

The people who have gathered there then said that it wasn’t about drugs but it was rather inhumane for them to be doing what they’re doing. George was not even speaking anymore and he was just wiggling around. Then he lost consciousness.

At that point in time, everyone was asking for the officers to get off of him and to seek medical help. A woman who claims to be a firefighter moved to check on his pulse but the two male officers blocked her and intimidated her. Even when the ambulance has arrived, the officer did not retract his leg and just kept putting pressure on the unconscious, defenceless man.

George’s limp body was put on a stretcher and transported to the hospital. He died shortly after that.

They said he physically resisted them but CCTV shows otherwise

This incident happened around 8pm on 25th May in Minneapolis. According to CBS, the Minneapolis police said that they received a report of a man attempting to use forged documents at a grocery store. The police officers found George in a car and said that he appeared intoxicated and physically resisted them. They managed to get him handcuffed and noticed that he was going into medical distress.

The incident happened in front of a restaurant and they had a CCTV. The restaurant owner ran through the security footage and said that George was NOT resisting arrest.

MORE: Video obtained by CBS News shows what appears to be the start of the confrontation between George Floyd & Minneapolis police officers. A restaurant's security footage shows cops taking him into custody, but the restaurant owner says it does not show Floyd resisting arrest. pic.twitter.com/KR8r7B1WPl

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 26, 2020

“This man should not have died.”

The Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey has since condemned the actions of the two officers.

“When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense.

I believe what I saw and what I saw is wrong on every level.

This man should not have died. He matters.”

Mayor Jacob Frey has also confirmed that the four officers related to George Floyd’s death have been terminated. The FBI will be investigating this case.

Protest

Angered, the people of Minneapolis protested near Minneapolis Police’s Third Precinct on 26th May. Soon after, it went violent and protesters were seen smashing squad cars, precinct windows, and throwing bricks and rocks. The police retaliated with smoke bombs or tear gas and flash grenades.

A string of cases

George Floyd’s death is reminiscent of another unarmed black man named Eric Garner back in 2014. Eric was selling single cigarettes from boxes and resisted arrest. Multiple officers jumped on him and one placed him in a chokehold. He became unconscious and died an hour later.

Other than that, the nation has also reported several cases which shocked the country involving black people in these few months. 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was just jogging through a neighbourhood when two armed men followed him as he looked like the suspect for a few alleged break-ins in the neighbourhood. Ahmaud struggled with one of the men and he was shot three times. The murderer was only arrested 74 days after the incident.

26-year-old Breonna Taylor was killed when she was asleep in her bed. Police had a warrant for a drug-related investigation to arrest a suspect however, the suspect had already been arrested. The police broke through her door in the wee hours of the night without announcing their identities. As a self-defence move, her boyfriend fired a warning gunshot. The three police officers collectively fired more than 2o rounds of gunshots and eight of them hit Breonna. There were no drugs found in the apartment.

According to Al-Jazeera, the Washington Post Fatal Force database states that more than 1,000 people have been shot and killed by police in the last year and Black Americans are killed by police at a disproportionate rate. The Sentencing Project watchdog group says that African American adults are nearly six times as likely to be imprisoned or jailed than white adults.

We hope that justice will prevail and may the deceased rest in peace. What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments. 

Also read: Transgender Woman Shot Dead After Using Female Bathroom At A Fast Food Restaurant