African-American dies in Minnesota after police officer kneels on his neck

Man dies in police custody, four officers fired from the department

TOPSHOT-US-CRIME-RACISM-ARREST This still image taken from a May 25, 2020, video courtesy of Darnella Frazier via Facebook, shows a Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who was later declared dead | AFP

Four police officers from Minneapolis were fired after a video of one of them kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed African-American man raised a furore. The video of a handcuffed black man dying as the officer from the state of Minnesota knelt on his neck sparked an uproar over police treatment of African-Americans on Tuesday.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey fired four police officers following the death in custody of George Floyd, who was pressed shirtless onto a Minneapolis street.

This has led to mounting calls of the officers’ arrest and charging them with homicide. Floyd was detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.

In the video, as Floyd is seen saying that he cannot breathe, bystanders can be heard asking the police officer to release his hold. As the other officers taunted him to “get up and get in the car,” Floyd slowly got motionless. He was later taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead. 

An AFP report quoted Mayor Frey as saying, “What I saw was wrong at every level,” he said of the video. "The technique that was used is not permitted; is not a technique that our officers get trained in," he said. "And our chief has been very clear on that piece. There is no reason to apply that kind of pressure with a knee to someone's neck," Frey added. 

His death helped spark the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he had passed the case to the FBI for investigation, which could turn it into a federal rights violation case.