Man Murdered After Being Detained By Minneapolis Police

A man died Monday night after pleading to Minneapolis police officers that he could not breathe while he was being detained. The victim have been identified as George Floyd.

Around 8 p.m., officers responded to a report of forgery on the 3700 blocks of Chicago Avenue South, according to a news release from the Minneapolis Police Department.

On the scene, officers say they found a man, believed to be in his 40s, who appeared to be ‘under the influence’ sitting in his car. He was ordered to get out of the car, and when he did, police started to resist the responding officers.

Police said officers were able to get the man into handcuffs and noted the man “appeared to be suffering medical distress.”

A bystander recorded a video showing one of the officers holding Floyd down on the ground, pressing his knees into his neck as he repeats that he cannot breathe.

“Please,” Floyd can be heard saying, “Please, please, I can’t breathe.”

It goes on for several minutes, with bystanders begging the officers to let him up.

Floyd eventually loses consciousness, at which point the bystanders start calling for the officers to check his pulse. However, the officer continues to hold his knee to the back of his neck until an ambulance arrives.

He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

Darnella Frazier, the bystander who shot the video, told Storyful she was walking to the shops when she saw officers restraining the Floyd. She said he was crying and complaining about how he could not breathe, so she pulled out her phone and started recording.

“A lady that claimed to be a firefighter demanded for them to check his pulse and they completely ignored her and was very rude to her,” Frazier said. “Eventually he stopped talking and went silent. That’s when he looked dead. It looked as if he was running out of energy and time, and eventually slowly was dying. I’ve seen police be aggressive but never kill someone in front of me.”

 

The BCA is asking anyone who captured video of or witnessed the incident to contact them at 651-793-7000.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo addressed the incident at a press conference Tuesday morning. The mayor appeared visibly upset by what he saw in the bystander video, calling the event “completely and utterly messed up.”

“For five minutes, we watched as a white officer pressed his knee into the neck of a black man. For five minutes,” Frey said. “When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic human sense.” 

Arradondo said he called in the FBI to lead a separate federal civil rights investigation into the incident. The officers were wearing body cameras, which were on and activated.

“We all watched the horrific death of George Floyd on video as witnesses begged the police officer to take him to 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 Minneapolis Police Department. How man ‘while black’ deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?”

 

The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation into the incident, assisted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he called the FBI in to investigate possible civil rights violations.

Arradondo said the police department would also conduct an internal investigation into the officers’ use of force in the incident.