Death of George Floyd: opening of an extraordinary trial this Monday in the United States
Protest outside the Minnesota governor's residence two days before jury selection begins for the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of killing George Floyd, in St. Paul, Minnesota, March 6, 2021. REUTERS - NICK PFOSI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In the United States opens this Monday, March 8 an extraordinary trial.
According to the prosecution it is even "one of the most important in American history".
On the dock: Derek Chauvin.
The former police officer charged with the murder of African-American George Floyd.
The torture of this black man during his arrest last May was filmed by a passerby.
A look back at a murder that shocked the United States and sent shock waves around the world.
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On May 25, 2020, George Floyd purchases a pack of cigarettes from a tobacco shop in Minneapolis.
The cashier suspects him of paying with a fake bill and calls the police.
George Floyd, who used the potent opiate fentanyl, calmly opposes the agents who want to take him on board.
Very quickly, he found himself handcuffed, pinned to the ground, Derek Chauvin's right knee on his neck.
The scene is filmed and broadcast live on social networks.
Before dying of suffocation, the black man begs the white policeman for eight minutes and 46 seconds: "
I cannot breathe
".
“
I can't breathe,
” chanted hundreds of
thousands of protesters
across the
United States
in the days and weeks following the murder.
George Floyd has become the icon of the movement against systemic racism and police violence.
"Black Lives Matter", "black lives matter", also chant, and this is new, white demonstrators who join blacks in the street.
They are calling not only for reforms but indeed for a rereading of the country's history.
Derek Chauvin's
trial
is therefore not just that of a police officer.
It is that of the American police.
►
To read also: Video of the death of George Floyd: what the analysis of the images says
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