" I can not breathe ! ": In the United States, a black man dies after being tackled on the ground by a police officer

• May, 27 2020 à 21:44
• Jean-Claude Dorsainvil
• Politique
• 0 Comments

In a video, the man, identified as George Floyd, begs the policeman who presses his neck with his knee to let him breathe, before stopping to move a few minutes later. Four officers were dismissed.

These are freezing images that toured social networks this Tuesday, May 26. We see a black man held on the ground by a policeman, who holds his knee firmly on his neck. He begged the officer for a long time, saying that he could not breathe, before he stopped moving, his eyes closed, his face turned to bitumen. The man died in hospital, according to police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the events took place. City authorities have asked the FBI to investigate, several American media reported.

In a statement, police said they intervened on Monday evening after a man was reported seated on a car, appearing "under the influence of [alcohol or drugs]." The man allegedly resisted his arrest. It was not until he was handcuffed that the police noted that he "appeared to be in medical distress". “The officers called an ambulance. The man was transported to the medical center of the county of Hennepin where he died shortly after ", soberly describes the press release, which adds that the man did not use any weapon.

" I can not breathe ! "

But the video posted online by a witness on Monday (beware, these images can shock) shows a much more complex version of the facts. For long minutes we see the man, already on the ground, begging the officers: "Please!" Please ! I can not breathe ! "He exclaims, sometimes letting out groans of pain. " Do not kill me ! "We also hear him say.

The man in his forties, identified as George Floyd by the "Minneapolis Star Tribune", continues his pleas, as many witnesses gather around the scene. The latter join him, imploring the policeman, who does not move. "Are you just going to stay like that with your knee on his neck?" Someone exclaims.

"Insane murder": homicide of a black paramedic by American police causes outrage

A few minutes later, the man, who appeared to be weakening, stopped moving completely. "Did you kill him?" "Worries a witness. "Check his pulse!" Exclaims another. It was not until the ambulance arrived that the police officer finally removed his knee from the inanimate man, under furious comments from passersby.

"The police killed him, in front of everyone. He was crying, telling them “I can't breathe”. They killed him, "one upset Facebook witness wrote, sharing the video.

Minneapolis chief of police said at a press conference that he had asked the FBI to investigate after receiving new information that "provided more context than the information [he had] before" . Another investigation was also opened by the Office of Criminal Apprehensions, according to the "Minneapolis Star Tribune". Four agents involved in the case have been sacked, says the New York Times.

"This man should not have died"

The video, which went around social networks, sparked the anger of many activists and associations.

"Being black in the United States should not be a death sentence," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement on Tuesday. […] When someone calls for help, you have to help. This police officer lacked the most basic human sense. "

"This man should not have died [...] Whatever the investigations will reveal, that does not change this simple truth, he should still be with us this morning", he added, apologizing to the family of the victim and to the Black community of Minneapolis.

A rally was planned for Tuesday: assuring him that he understood this need to demonstrate, the mayor invited the demonstrators to take account of the barrier gestures, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The case sadly recalls that of Eric Garner’s death: on July 17, 2014, the 44-year-old African American was arrested, tackled and forcibly kept on the ground by the police. Like the Minneapolis victim, he had begged at length: "I can’t breath! (I can't breathe) ", before dying in the hospital. His last words had become a symbol in the fight against police violence in the United States.