MINNEAPOLIS, MN (TIP): Violent protests broke out in Minneapolis on May 27, 2020, two days after George Floyd, 46 years old black person died in police custody. A number of businesses and homes around Precinct 3 were damaged as the area has become the site of an ongoing protest after the police killing of George Floyd on May 25. Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired after a video (https://youtu.be/ZWzkgKPZWcw) taken by a bystander was posted on social media showing Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by an officer as he repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe”. Floyd was later pronounced dead while in police custody after being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center.
And the city’s mayor said he’s requesting state assistance and allowing Police Chief Arradondo to use resources from other jurisdictions.
“We must confront our shortcomings with humility as well as hope. We must restore the peace so that we can do this hard work together,” Mayor Jacob Frey said.
Fury has been rising in Minneapolis over Monday, May 25 death of Floyd, a black man who died after pleading for help as a police officer pinned him — unarmed and handcuffed — to the ground.
On Wednesday, May 27 night, Minneapolis’ second day of protests transitioned to rioting and looting south of downtown, with people smashing their way into stores and setting businesses and other buildings ablaze.
One of Floyd’s brothers cried Thursday, May 28 morning as he said his family wants protests to be peaceful, but stressed people are struggling with seeing another black man die following a police encounter, this one over the passing of an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill at a store.
“I want everybody to be peaceful right now, but people are torn and hurt, because they’re tired of seeing black men die,” George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, said on CNN’s “New Day.”
“These officers (involved in George’s arrest) need to be arrested right now … and held accountable about everything because these people want justice right now,” he said.
A man was fatally shot overnight near the protests, police said early Thursday. One person was arrested, and police said they’re investigating the nature of the incident.
As the protests developed, demonstrators threw water bottles and firecrackers at officers and a police precinct building.
An unspecified number of police officers and other people suffered minor injuries in the protests, Arradondo said, without elaborating.
Demonstrations were held elsewhere in the country Wednesday night. In Los Angeles, hundreds of protesters marched. At one point, some attacked a California Highway Patrol car.
In Memphis, Tennessee, police in riot gear responded to a protest and at least two people were arrested, according to news reports on TV channels.
Meanwhile, Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order Thursday, May 28 to activate the Minnesota National Guard, a move that came at the request of local leaders after “peaceful protests evolved into a dangerous situation for protesters and first responders,” according to a release.
In a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Frey also called for criminal charges to be brought against the officer who kept his knee on Floyd. That officer was identified by his attorney Tom Kelly as Derek Chauvin. Kelly has not released a statement on Chauvin’s behalf.
Chauvin had 18 complaints filed with the police department’s internal affairs division, according to MPD.
It’s unclear what the complaints, which were all closed, were for and no details were provided by police.
Only two of the 18 complaints against Chauvin were “closed with discipline,” according to a public summary from police. The “discipline issued” column listed a letter of reprimand for each of the two complaints.
George Floyd’s family says four officers involved in his death should be charged with murder
In an interview aired Thursday, Frey told CBS News that he believed Floyd’s death constituted murder.
“I am not a prosecutor but let me be clear: The arresting officer killed someone,” Frew told CBS. “He (Floyd) would be alive today if he were white.”
The other three officers were identified by police as Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng.
Thomas Plunkett, representing Kueng, said, “At this time, out of respect for Mr. Floyd, we are declining all invitations to discuss these painful events.”
Earl Gray is representing another of the officers involved but has declined to say who his client is.
Police said they arrested Floyd Monday after responding to the forgery call and finding him inside a car.
Police said he “physically resisted” after he got out of the vehicle.
CNN reports that a surveillance video obtained from a nearby restaurant shows some of the officers’ initial contact with him and doesn’t appear to show obvious resistance from a handcuffed Floyd. Eventually Floyd is escorted away from view.
Donald Williams, a witness, told CNN he was about to walk into a store when he noticed commotion. He said he saw Floyd “panting for his life, begging for his forgiveness.”
Williams’ description of events matches a video captured by one bystander in which Floyd can be heard calling for help, saying, “I can’t breathe,” and that his body was hurting.
Williams said he tried to approach an officer and ask what was happening. Officers said Floyd was “resisting arrest.”
“I said, ‘Officer, he’s not resisting arrest, you have your knee on him and you have handcuffs on him, he’s detained at this moment,'” he said. One officer responded by saying “this is what drugs do to you,” according to Williams.
Floyd was declared dead at a nearby hospital a short time later. A medics team that responded to the incident worked on an “unresponsive, pulseless male,” according to a Minneapolis Fire Department narrative released by police.
(With inputs from CNN, CBS and agencies)