Violent protests in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd

Violent protests in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd - 20 Minutes

Violent clashes exploded again overnight Wednesday to Thursday in Minneapolis, in the northern United States. Protesters protested for the second consecutive evening against the death of George Floyd, a black American who died after his violent arrest. A man was shot dead on the fringes of the clashes and looting.

The Minnesota city police chief had asked the protesters to remain calm so as not to experience the same excesses as the previous day. But scuffles broke out overnight. Some set fire to an auto parts store and looted a shop near the police station where officers accused of the murder of George Floyd worked before their dismissal on Tuesday.

"An extremely dangerous situation"

The police fired tear gas and formed a human barricade to prevent the demonstrators from crossing a fence surrounding the police station. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz urged protesters to leave the area Wednesday evening, warning of "an extremely dangerous situation".

The situation near Lake Street and Hiawatha in Minneapolis has evolved into an extremely dangerous situation. For everyone's safety, please leave the area and allow firefighters and paramedics to get to the scene.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey asked him to consider deploying the National Guard.

As fires and looting continued overnight near the police station, a man died after being shot in the vicinity of the protests, police said, who arrested one person.

Peaceful protests

Peaceful protests have taken place in two other parts of the city, including the place where George Floyd died to pay tribute to the 46-year-old African American who died after a brutal arrest, the video of which went viral.

Protesters in Los Angeles briefly blocked a freeway. Some smashed the windows of two police vehicles, climbed onto the hood, and a protester was injured when he fell from one of the vehicles that was restarting. Across the country there were increasing calls for justice to be done.

Calls to Charge Police Officer with Murder

George Floyd's family claimed on Wednesday that the police involved were charged with murder. "Because that's exactly what they did, they murdered my brother," said his sister Bridgett Floyd on NBC. "I have faith and I believe that justice will be done," she added, deeming that their dismissal was "not enough".

The four police officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd were sacked on Tuesday but released after an investigation was launched. The mayor of Minneapolis, wondered Wednesday "why the man who killed George Floyd (was) not in prison".

President Donald Trump tweeted asking the federal police (FBI) and the Department of Justice to shed light on this "sad and tragic" disappearance, assuring: "My thoughts are with George's family and friends. Justice will be done! "

At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd ....

New images

Video of a passerby on Monday, a video of the arrest shows a policeman tackling George Floyd on the ground, keeping his knee on his neck for long minutes. We see this last groan and repeat: "I can't breathe". The white policeman tells him to stay calm. A second policeman keeps passersby away who start to get carried away while the apprehended man does not move and seems unconscious.

New videos appear to dismiss the police argument that George Floyd, suspected of attempting to forge a counterfeit $ 20 bill, resisted his arrest. In images captured by the cameras of the restaurant in front of which he was arrested, his hands are handcuffed behind his back and he offers no resistance when a policeman drives him to a patrol car.

Without the images posted on social networks, the police "would have given a false version of the facts and they would have stashed that under the carpet," denounced Benjamin Crump, lawyer for the family of the deceased.

A "public execution"

Many personalities have denounced unjustified violence on the part of the police against blacks. Black Senator Kamala Harris, a former California prosecutor, castigated "an act of torture" and "public execution" in a society marked by racism.

Here's the sad reality: what happened to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery & Christian Cooper has gone on for generations to Black Americans. Cell phones just made it more visible.

Dismantling systemic racism in our nation starts with demanding justice & holding offenders accountable.

"It is a tragic reminder that this is not an isolated incident, but part of a cycle of systematic injustice that still exists in our country," said the former US vice president and Democratic candidate for the November presidential election, Joe Biden.

George Floyd deserved better and his family deserves justice. His life mattered.

I'm grateful for the swift action in Minneapolis to fire the officers involved - they must be held responsible for their egregious actions. The FBI should conduct a thorough investigation. https://t.co/n1tdiUba0x

" That's why "

According to him, the case evokes the death of Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 in New York after being asphyxiated during his arrest by white police. The case had contributed to the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. Other deaths had caused riots in the country.

Star basketball player LeBron James posted a kneeling photo of ex-American football player Colin Kaepernick on Instagram and one of George Floyd tackled on the ground under the headline: "That's why", adding: "Do you understand NOW? Or is it still as confusing for you? "

To protest against this type of police violence, Kaepernick launched a boycott of the national anthem, knocking one knee down when it was played before the matches of the American football championship.

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