4 Minneapolis Police Officers Fired Over George Floyd Death

The move comes comes after a video showed an officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, an unarmed Black man, on Monday.

Story by Huffington Post
Written by By Hayley Miller

Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died on Monday after an officer kneeled on his neck while he was handcuffed on the ground, shouting that he couldn’t breathe.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced their terminations during a news conference. He did not publicly identify the officers.

“This is the right call,” Mayor Jacob Frey wrote of the firings in a Facebook post.

Bystander video that circulated on social media shows an officer who appears to be white pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck, while Floyd is pinned face-down on the street. Floyd can be heard repeatedly pleading with officer to get up.

“Please man, I can’t breathe,” Floyd says. “I cannot breathe. I cannot breathe.”

Within minutes, the video shows Floyd closing his eyes and no longer speaking. The officer appears to keep his knee on Floyd’s neck, even as onlookers begin shouting that he isn’t moving and demand that officers help him. The video shows a second officer nearby, looking in the direction of onlookers.

Police called for an ambulance but the man died shortly after arriving at a hospital, the Minneapolis Police Department said in a press release.

Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Floyd’s death. The bureau said in a statement Tuesday that it will present its findings without recommendation to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review.

The FBI has opened a separate federal civil rights investigation into the matter at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department, Arradondo said.