I Can't Breathe' : Minneapolis Officers Fired After Black Man Dies in Custody “ Being black in America should notbe a death sentence, mayor said as video of the arrest was widely shared .

By Christine Hauser, Derrick Bryson Taylor and NeilVigdor TheNew York Times May 26 , 2020

The F.B.I.andMinnesotalaw enforcementauthorities are investigating the arrest ofa black manwho died afterbeinghandcuffedand pinned to the groundby an officer's knee, in an episode thatwas recordedon video by a bystander and that sparked largeprotests in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

After the graphic video circulated widely on socialmedia, themayordenounced the actionsof the four officerswho were involved and said on Tuesday afternoon that they hadbeen fired. Heidentified the victim as George Floyd.

Mr. Floyd, 46, a residentof St.Louis Park, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb, was pronounceddead at 9:25 p.m.Monday atHennepin County MedicalCenter, according to the medicalexaminer.

Mr.Floyd's familymembers told CNN on Tuesday nightthat the officers should be chargedwith murder.

They treated him worse than they treat animals,” said Philonise Floyd, Mr. Floyd'sbrother. “ They took a life — they deserve life. ”

The arrest took place on Monday evening, the Minneapolis PoliceDepartmentsaid in a statement, after officers responded to a call about a man suspected of forgery. The police said theman was found sitting on top of a blue car and “ appeared to be under the influence.

"Hewas ordered to step from his car, the department's statementsaid “ Afterhe gotout, he physically resistedofficers. Officerswere able to get the suspectinto handcuffsand notedhe appeared to be sufferingmedicaldistress.

The statement said thatofficers had called for an ambulance.

On Tuesday morning, withoutreferring to the video recorded by a bystander, the police updated a statement, titled"Man Dies After Medical IncidentDuring Police Interaction, said thatadditional information had beenmade available” and that the joining the investigation.

On Tuesday afternoon,Mayor Jacob Frey ofMinneapolistweetedthat four officers involved in the case had been terminated. “ This is the rightcall, hesaid.

The New York Times LearningNetwork The Police Department's statement said that noweapons had been used and that the officers ' body cameras were recording . Mr. Frey said at a news conference Tuesday thathe had seen the video taken and posted by a civilian not thebody camera footage .

The bystander video shows a white Minneapolis police officer pressinghis knee into a black man's neck during an arrest, as theman repeatedly says, “I can't breathe," and “ Please, I can'tbreathe.

As the video spread on socialmedia on Mondaynight, the arrestquickly drew comparisonsto the case of Eric Garner, a blackmanwho diedin New York police custody in 2014 after an officerheld him in a chokehold. Mr.Garner's repeatedplea of“I can'tbreathe” — also recordedby a cellphone became a rallyingcry atdemonstrationsagainstpolicemisconductaroundthe country.

Beingblack in America should notbe a death sentence,” Mr.Frey said in a statementon Tuesday.“ For five minutes, wewatched a white officerpress his kneeinto a blackman'sneck. Fiveminutes.

Former Vice President Joseph R.Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, condemned the force used by the officers.

“George Floyd deserved better and his family deserves justice , ” Biden wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night. His life mattered .”

Hundredsof people gathered on Tuesday atthe intersection where Mr.Floydhad been subdued, protestingthe conductof the officers.

The localnewsmedia reported thattwopeople had been shotnearthe protest, but a Police Department spokesman, John Elder, said oneperson hadbeen shot away from the protestanddescribedthe person's injuries asnotlife- threatening. It was not immediately clearwho did the shooting, hesaid .

Someprotesters vandalized police vehicles with graffiti and targeted the precinct house where the four officers had been assigned , Mr. Elder said .

The police fired foam projectiles known as marking rounds and used tear gas to try to repel some of the protesters, he said . The Police Department did not immediately say if there had been any arrests.

The video recorded in Minneapolis on Monday shows that after a few minutes, theman, lying face down in the streetwith his hands cuffed behind his back, becomes silent andmotionless; the officer continues to pin theman to the pavementwith his knee.

Bystandersplead and curse, beggingthe officer to stop and telling him theman'snose is bleeding. Anotherofficer faces thepeople gathered on the sidewalk . An ambulancemedic arrives and, reaching underthe officer's knee, feels for a pulse on theman's neck.

Themedic turnsaway, and a stretcheriswheeled over. The arrestedman is then rolledonto the stretcher, loadedinto an ambulance and taken away.

The New York Times LearningNetwork Jovanni Thunstrom , who employed Mr. Floyd as a bouncer at his restaurant, CongaLatin Bistro, said in an interview Tuesday thathewas in disbeliefwhen he saw the video .

“ It'shard to believe a police officerwould do that,” said Mr. Thunstrom, who was alsoMr.Floyd's landlord. Hewasn't a threatto justify excessiveforceusedon him .”

Mr. Thunstrom said thatMr. Floyd hadbecome a friend during the five years that heworked for him and the four years thatherented a duplex unit from him in St.Louis Park.

No onehad nothingbad to say abouthim , he said . “ They all are shocked dead. Henever caused a fightorwas rude to people.”

The PoliceOfficers Federation ofMinneapolis did notimmediately respondto a request for commenton Tuesday, butthe headof the union said in a statement to the localnewsmediathatpeople should not rush to judgmentwhile the investigation is ongoing.

“Our officers are fully cooperating,” the unionhead, Lt.Bob Kroll, said “Wemustreview allvideo. We mustwait for themedicalexaminer'sreport.

Itcould take at least three weeks to determine the cause andmanner ofMr. Floyd's death , Hennepin County officials said.

Mr.Frey said on Tuesday that he did notknow how theinitialpolice statement, describing a “medical incident,” had come to be written , buthe said he wanted to be“ absolutely as transparentaspossible.

" It's the kindofthingwhereyou don't hide from the truth, you lean into it, because our city is going to be better off forit, nomatterhow ugly , awfulit is, hesaid . “ Ifitpoints outthe institutionalracism thatwe are stillworking through rightnow , well, good itmeansthatwe've got a lotofwork to go .

The video did not show what had happened before the officer pinned theman to the ground by his neck. ChiefMedaria Arradondo of the Minneapolis police said at the news conference on Tuesday that he had received information the nightbefore that led him to deem it “necessary to contact the special agent in charge of the Minneapolis bureau of the F.B.I.”

He saidhehad asked the agency to investigate, andhe declined to commenton whatinformationhehad received

The F.B.I. is conducting a federalcivilrights investigation, theMinnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement. The state bureau also said thatit was conducting itsown investigation at therequestof the Police Departmentand thatitwould release its findings to the Hennepin County district attorney's office.

The New York Times LearningNetwork Thenamesof the officerswillbe released after interviews, itsaid .

Benjamin L.Crump, a Tallahassee, Fla., lawyerwho has risen to prominenceby takingon similar cases, said hehad been retained to representFloyd's family. “ This abusive, excessiveand inhumaneuseof force cost the life ofa man who was beingdetained by the police for questioningabouta nonviolent charge,” Mr. Crump said in a statement.

In a separate statement , John Gordon , executive director of the ACLU ofMinnesota , called the video “ horrifying” and said it underscored the immediate need for a thorough , fair and transparent investigation into the case . He added that “ the officers involved — not just the perpetrator , but also those who stood by and did nothing must be held accountable ."

Tim Walz , the governorofMinnesota, called the episode sickening.

“Wewill get answers and seek justice, ” he said .

Senator AmyKlobuchar , Senator Tina Smith ,Representative Ilhan Omar and Representative Betty McCollum , all Democrats from Minnesota , wrote a letter on Tuesday asking the U.S. attorney for Minnesota and the Hennepin County attorney to investigate the officers' actions .

Police brutality must end, ” Ms. Omarwrote on Twitter. “Wemustpursue justice and get answers to this unjustkilling.

Similar high -profile cases have generated large protests and given rise to a national debate over police conduct toward black people , as happened in 2016 after an African - American man , Philando Castile , was shotdead by a police officer during a traffic stop in a suburb ofSt. Paul, Minn . The officer, Jeronimo Yanez , was later acquitted of second -degree manslaughter and of endangering safety by discharging a firearm in the shooting .

In a Facebook eventon Tuesday afternoon , Mr. Frey said he understood and supported the rights of people who would protestthe episode butasked that protesters wear masks and respect social distancing procedures .

“I encourage people to voice their opinionsand anger, their heartbreak and their sadness, because undoubtedly it willbe there,” he said.

Mr. Thunstrom , the restaurant owner , said that the last time he had heard from Mr. Floyd was when he paid his rentlastweek and told him that he was looking for a job . The restaurant where Mr. Floyd worked has been closed to on-site dining since March because of the coronavirus pandemic , he said .

something changes, because I lost a friend,” Mr. Thunstrom said .

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