Four US policemen fired over death of black man as family demands justice

Four US police officers have been sacked following the death of George Floyd, a black man, who died after his neck was pinned down by one of the officers.

The US authorities had on Tuesday initiated investigations into the death of the black American after he was said to have suffocated in Minnesota, with video clips showing a policeman kneeling on his neck.

According to New York Times, Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis, denounced the actions of the officers as protests began in parts of the city. He also confirmed that they have been fired.

As investigations continue, with videos of George’s initial arrest circulating the internet, the family of the deceased has called for the four policemen to be charged with murder.

Guardian UK reports that Bridget Floyd, George’s sister, on Wednesday, demanded that the officers, who were fired on Tuesday, “be in jail for murder”.

Bridget, who spoke in tears, added: “Me and my family are taking this very, very hard. It’s very heartbreaking, it’s very disturbing.”

“They were supposed to be there to serve and to protect and I didn’t see a single one of them lift a finger to do anything to help while he was begging for his life. Not one of them tried to do anything to help him,” Tera Brown, Floyd’s cousin, told CNN.

While holding up the picture of the deceased during a protest on Tuesday night, Philonise, one of George’s brothers, added: “Knowing my brother is to love my brother.

“They could have tased him; they could have maced him. Instead, they put their knee in his neck and just sat on him and then carried on. They treated him worse than they treat animals.”

Rodney Floyd, another brother of the deceased, also defended George against insinuations that he might have resisted arrest, prompting the policemen to use stringent measures on him.

“You have eyes. I have eyes. You can see what you saw. And I saw, and the nation saw and every black person saw, the same thing because it doesn’t happen to anybody else,” he said.

New video sent to us shows the moment George Floyd was removed from his vehicle and handcuffed on 38th and Chicago.
Video courtesy of Christopher Belfrey pic.twitter.com/MiIIula4sA

— Alex Lehnert (@AlexLCBS4) May 26, 2020

The police had initially said George was resisting arrest, but the video clip above — taken from the vehicle behind the car — shows the black man being dragged out of the vehicle without resisting arrest, before being apprehended by officers.