They died after police intervention - provoking anger and protests in the US

Police were alerted to the scene in the city of Minneapolis where the arrest happened when store staff suspected the man was trying to pay with a fake $ 20 bill.

Parts of the arrest were filmed by passersby. The video, which was circulated on social media and published by the Washington Post, among others, shows how the police hold the handcuffed man down the street and how one of them pushes his knee to his neck while saying he cannot breathe.

Several of the civilians standing around respond and ask the police to remove their knees. After five minutes, the man appears to lose consciousness, but the police continue to hold him down until he is finally carried into an ambulance.

The man later died in hospital.

The film has received a lot of attention and raised strong condemnations.

"Being black in the United States should not be a death sentence," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said after the incident became known.

Thousands of people demonstrated in the city of Minneapolis on Tuesday. The four police officers have now been fired with immediate effect by the mayor, and the case is being investigated by the FBI.

Initially, the police stated in two statements that the man resisted during the arrest, and that he died for medical reasons. However, the statements did not prove to be completely accurate, the mayor stated.

The incident occurred similar to several other notable cases in which US police were charged with assault. In many cases, however, this has not resulted in any consequences for the police involved.

Earlier in May, US media reported on how 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead during a jogging tour of Georgia by two white men, who were not arrested until after two months. Even that case caused great anger among many in the United States, and fueled the debate about racism and violence against African Americans.