The police killing of George Floyd sparks widespread anger and protests throughout the US


Support us and go ad-free

A white police officer was caught on video kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed African-American man – George Floyd – for several minutes during an arrest, even after Floyd said he could not breathe and stopped moving. He died shortly after.

“No threat”

The mayor of Minneapolis later said he believes the officer in question should be charged over Floyd’s death, saying:

If most people, particularly people of color, had done what a police officer did late Monday, they’d already be behind bars.

He later added: “I saw no threat. I saw nothing that would signal that this kind of force was necessary.”

Protests and police violence

Floyd’s death soon prompted protests across the US:

Thousands of people took to the streets where he died:

A woman lies in the street as protesters gather near the site of George Floyd's arrest
A woman lies in the street as protesters gather near the site of George Floyd’s arrest (AP/Jim Mone)

Many protesters marched more than 2 miles to the police station in that part of the city, with some damaging the building’s windows and cars and spraying graffiti. Police in riot gear confronted them with tear gas and projectiles.

‘Looting’

As CNN reported on 28 May, “Minneapolis’ second night of protests transitioned to rioting and looting over a few blocks south of downtown, with people smashing their way into stores and setting businesses and other buildings ablaze”. Many highlighted the existence of different types of looting:

Media hypocrisy

Some people, meanwhile, pointed out the difference in media coverage of these protests in the US and protests over in Hong Kong:

Investigation

The FBI and state law enforcement are investigating Floyd’s death, which immediately drew comparisons to the case of Eric Garner, an unarmed African-American man who died in 2014 in New York after he was placed in a chokehold by police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe. In the Garner case, local prosecutors, the NYPD’s internal affairs unit and the Justice Department all finished investigations into the case before the officer was ultimately fired. Garner’s family and activists spent years begging for the officer to be removed.

Featured image and additional content via Press Association

Support us and go ad-free

We need your help to keep speaking the truth

Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.

Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.

We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.

In return, you get:

* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop

Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.

With your help we can continue:

* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do

We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?

The Canary Support us
  • Show Comments

    1. Unbelievable how racist the police are in the USA. White guys armed with AR-15’s and side arms intimidate people outside State Senates. Police response? Nothing. I wonder what would have happened if the guys were Black? Research “Panthers Bill”

      Report comment

      1. The reason they did not react is because of how heavily armed the white people were. We need to stop the division. The police have killed an innocent human being, thats all that should matter. Black/White Unite. Stop state sponsored Murder.

        Report comment

    2. A new low for The Canary. How much Chinese money are you receiving? To compare those protesting to preserve their democracy from a cruel, twisted Chinese dictatorship to opportunistic looting is disgusting.
      Looting shops, destroying your community and destroying property is not constructive and cannot be justified. To try and use this tragedy to further an anti capitalist agenda as can be seen in this article is gutter politics.

      Report comment

    3. There is only one way left if the American people want to change their istitutionally racist and elitist system. That’s to register to vote and on polling day get out there and vote for anyone but the usual two.
      Democrats and Republicans. There’s little to no difference between either of them. They don’t care for the people on the streets, their jobs, or their wellfare. All they care about is helping their billionaire paymasters to keep gorging on the blood of the workers.
      Attempting to infiltrate their corrupt system, especiaaly with peoples of colour, has been a failure. The only ones the elite let in are those that they know they can bend to their will.
      So in November they must vote Independent, Green, Socialist. Anyone but the usual two.

      Report comment

    Leave a Reply

    Join the conversation

    Please read our comment moderation policy here.

Related articles