Protests, looting erupt in Minneapolis over racially charged killing by police

By Eric Miller and Nicholas Pfosi

 

Protesters gather near the Minneapolis Police third precinct to watch a construction site burn after a white police officer was caught on a bystander's video pressing his knee into the neck of African-American man George Floyd, who later died at a hospital, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi

 

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Protesters clashed with riot police firing tear gas for a second night in Minneapolis on Wednesday in an outpouring of rage over the death of a black man seen in a widely circulated video gasping for breath as a white officer knelt on his neck.

 

The video, taken by an onlooker to Monday night's fatal encounter between police and George Floyd, 46, showed him lying face down and handcuffed, groaning for help and repeatedly saying, "please, I can't breathe," before growing motionless.

 

The second day of demonstrations, accompanied by looting and vandalism, began hours after Mayor Jacob Frey urged prosecutors to file criminal charges against the white policeman shown pinning Floyd to the street.

 

Floyd, who was unarmed and reportedly suspected of trying to pass counterfeit bills at a corner eatery, was taken by ambulance from the scene of his arrest and pronounced dead the same night at a hospital.

 

The policeman shown kneeling on Floyd's neck and three fellow officers involved were dismissed from the police department on Tuesday as the FBI opened an investigation.

 

Hundreds of protesters, many with faces covered, thronged streets around the Third Precinct police station late on Wednesday, about half a mile from where Floyd had been arrested, chanting, "No justice, no peace" and "I can't breathe."

 

The crowd grew to thousands as night fell and the protest turned into a standoff outside the station, where police in riot gear formed barricade lines while protesters taunted them from behind makeshift barricades of their own.

 

Police, some taking positions on rooftops, used tear gas, plastic bullets and concussion grenades to keep the crowds at bay. Protesters pelted police with rocks and other projectiles. Some threw tear gas canisters back at the officers.

 

Television news images from a helicopter over the area showed dozens of people looting a Target store, running out with clothing and shopping carts full of merchandise.

 

Fires erupted after dark at several businesses, including an auto parts store. Eyewitnesses said the blazes appeared to be the work of arsonists. Media said a smaller, peaceful protest was held outside the home of one of the police officers.

 

ANGER ON THE WEST COAST

Outrage at Floyd's death also triggered a rally in his name against police brutality by hundreds of people in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon.

 

That demonstration turned violent after a crowd marched onto a nearby freeway and blocked traffic, then attacked two California Highway Patrol cruisers, smashing their windows, local media reported. One protester who clung to the hood of a patrol car fell to the pavement as it sped away, and was treated at the scene by paramedics, news footage of the incident showed.

 

The video of Monday's deadly confrontation between Minneapolis police and Floyd led Mayor Frey to call on Wednesday for Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman "to charge the arresting officer in this case".

 

The city identified the four officers as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng. It did not say who knelt on Floyd's neck, and gave no further information.

 

The local police union said the officers were cooperating with investigators and cautioned against a "rush to judgment".

 

"We must review all video. We must wait for the medical examiner's report," the union statement said.

 

The county attorney's office said it would decide how to proceed once investigators had concluded their inquiries.

 

The case was reminiscent of the 2014 killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man in New York City who died after being put in a banned police chokehold.

 

Garner's dying words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement calling attention to a wave of killings of African-Americans by police using unjustified lethal force.

 

(Reporting by Eric Miller and Nicholas Pfosi in Minneapolis; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Stephen Coates, Clarence Fernandez and Gareth Jones)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-29

 

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I wonder if this will spread, at least the USA has bought lots of anti riot gear at the start of the pandemic crisis.

I saw the video. Absolutely unbelievable and in broad daylight in full view of the public.

 

The victim had his hands cuffed behind his back and and the cop, with one hand casually in his pocket knelt on his head for several minutes till he had to all intents and purposes died. Surely it's cold blooded murder.

 

And they wonder why people riot. Understandably there were white people in the crowds as well as black.

 

If this is par for the course in the US then it's little wonder the Black Lives Matter outfit came into being!

Well folks black or white are sick and tired of the cops getting away with this kind of behavior they have to stop no excuses the guy was cuffed up imo the kneeling cop should be charged with manslaughter and the rest of them charged with accessory no excuses in this instance none

6 minutes ago, Tug said:

Well folks black or white are sick and tired of the cops getting away with this kind of behavior they have to stop no excuses the guy was cuffed up imo the kneeling cop should be charged with manslaughter and the rest of them charged with accessory no excuses in this instance none

Floyd could be heard saying quite clearly that he could not breathe yet the cop continued to purposefully exert pressure for several minutes when he should have eased up.

 

The death was intentional so it's a clear case of murder.

 

It would be manslaughter if it had been accidental which it obviously was not.

Nothing says justice like a 60 inch HD TV.

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Nothing says justice like a 60 inch HD TV.

Almost everyone was on their side, black and white, left and right, and then they go mess up the goodwill by looting and burning.

What was he being arrested for? Priors?

7 minutes ago, Heppinger said:

What was he being arrested for? Priors?

Apparently it was for writing a bad cheque.

1 minute ago, Throatwobbler said:

Apparently it was for writing a bad cheque.

understandable.

What happened to Mr. Floyd was a disgrace and the cops involved need to be held to account.

 

But the rioting, looting, violence....equally disgraceful and not helpful to the cause.

39 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Almost everyone was on their side, black and white, left and right, and then they go mess up the goodwill by looting and burning.

Reading the reports on the protests they were peaceful until the police turned up in riot gear and started firing tear gas at the crowds.

 Maybe they should have been like the protesters in Michigan, heavily armed and white and then the police would have just sat back and let them do what they want.

8 minutes ago, Throatwobbler said:

Reading the reports on the protests they were peaceful until the police turned up in riot gear and started firing tear gas at the crowds.

 Maybe they should have been like the protesters in Michigan, heavily armed and white and then the police would have just sat back and let them do what they want.

Even if what you say is true, is it an excuse for burning and looting?

The (lawfully) heavily armed white folk in Michigan were protesting peaceably. 

There goes Amy Klobuchar's chance to be Joe Biden's VP. 

She declined to prosecute the cop ???? who kneeled on the victim for a bad shooting several years ago. 

19 minutes ago, Throatwobbler said:

Reading the reports on the protests they were peaceful until the police turned up in riot gear and started firing tear gas at the crowds.

 Maybe they should have been like the protesters in Michigan, heavily armed and white and then the police would have just sat back and let them do what they want.

better read all of the stories before you post nonsense

 

20 minutes ago, Throatwobbler said:

Reading the reports on the protests they were peaceful until the police turned up in riot gear and started firing tear gas at the crowds.

 Maybe they should have been like the protesters in Michigan, heavily armed and white and then the police would have just sat back and let them do what they want.

Another victim of marxist propaganda, When was the last time the MSM saturated the news covering a white death by cops?

2 hours ago, yogi100 said:

Floyd could be heard saying quite clearly that he could not breathe yet the cop continued to purposefully exert pressure for several minutes when he should have eased up.

 

The death was intentional so it's a clear case of murder.

 

It would be manslaughter if it had been accidental which it obviously was not.

 

I guess you won't be showing up for jury duty.

21 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Even if what you say is true, is it an excuse for burning and looting?

The (lawfully) heavily armed white folk in Michigan were protesting peaceably. 

Protesting with a gun in your hand is an implicit threat.

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Protesting with a gun in your hand is an implicit threat.

It's just a gun, i'm sure they also had car keys in their pockets.

7 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I guess you won't be showing up for jury duty.

If you are suggesting the cop will face trial before a jury, that’s a positive step forward.

30 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Even if what you say is true, is it an excuse for burning and looting?

The (lawfully) heavily armed white folk in Michigan were protesting peaceably. 

If what he says is true then it certainly makes it a lot less worse. Just imagine those white guys shooting back at the police after the police used teargas and so on. This is similar (minus the looting).

 

But yes this destroys a lot of goodwill. 

I'm not going to comment on the video except to say I wonder why the policeman considered it necessary to use his knee for so long. My main question is this; looking at various news items elsewhere a couple spoke of why this policeman was was enrolled anyway. What does that mean? Does the policeman have a prior record of using unnecessary violence? Or something else? I've looked but can't find any details...someone here have any ideas?

2 minutes ago, Heppinger said:

...and what underlying agendas they may have.

Not getting murdered for writing a bad cheque while being black...

3 minutes ago, samran said:

Not getting murdered for writing a bad cheque while being black...

Excellent point, not surprising their is no funding to highlight rampant black on white/asian hate crimes across America, a fact the MSM are silent on.

If it wasnt that they would find anther reason to Loot. Black or White.

There is a lot of police brutality on blacks and whites.

Plenty of videos if you know where to look

 

Sad the police are told to stand down and allow looting to take place

The national guard need to be brought into the fold in these situations and the governors stood down

 

Looters should be shot on sight, no mercy

Just now, Canuck1966 said:

Looters should be shot on sight, no mercy

That's a bit rough don't you think?  Besides i'm sure all the Corona fear mongers will have them marked for death for not following social distancing laws.

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

There goes Amy Klobuchar's chance to be Joe Biden's VP. 

She declined to prosecute the cop ???? who kneeled on the victim for a bad shooting several years ago. 

Yes, and just like the cop, there is a growing chorus of people demanding she be charged, too.

2 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Almost everyone was on their side, black and white, left and right, and then they go mess up the goodwill by looting and burning.

its how it usually ends though isnt it ?

4 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

I wonder if this will spread, at least the USA has bought lots of anti riot gear at the start of the pandemic crisis.

But if there was more trust of the police and the police behaved in an appropriate fair manner, which I would they are trained to do, then anti-riot gear would not be needed.