RACE
“Please”, “I can’t breathe”, “Mama”, “Don’t kill me” — He Said
Being Black shouldn’t be a Bane. [Black Lives Matter]
On March 25, around 8:00 pm a tragic mishap has befallen which shook everyone. George Floyd, an African-American and a resident of Minneapolis were brutally strangled by a police officer to death. Derek Chauvin was the Minneapolis police officer.
Let Me Walk You Through This
Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill and was also getting arrested for the same. Four officers were assigned for the arrest, i.e, Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas K. Lane. Kueng held Floyd’s back, Lane held his legs, and Thao was just an onlooker (an equal complicit). According to “The Police Officers”, Floyd resisted the arrest and was trying to escape. Police arrested Floyd and were trying to put him in a squad car when he stiffened up and fell to the ground, saying he was claustrophobic, according to the complaint. One Newshub article quoted “Newly emerged surveillance footage in the lead up to George Floyd’s arrest shows he didn’t resist arrest, the claim officers have used to justify kneeling on his neck before he died”.
An official autopsy revealed nothing to support strangulation as the cause of death, but that the combined effects of being restrained, underlying health conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, and potential intoxicants in his body most likely attributed his death. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner was asked by The Floyd Family to perform an independent autopsy. And that autopsy revealed that the cause of death was due to “cardiopulmonary arrest, restraint, and asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain.” Both the Hennepin County and independent medical examiners declared the death of George Floyd a “Homicide”. Many onlookers recorded the happening and some of them were also live on Facebook at the time.
8 minutes and 46 seconds
That is how long the defendant (Derek Chauvin) held his knee on Floyd’s neck. And 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time occurred after Floyd became unresponsive. While knee-to-neck restraints are allowed in Minnesota under critical circumstances, but the way Chauvin employed the technique has been unanimously picked apart by law enforcement officers.
The Aftermath
All four officers were fired the day after the incident. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI is carrying out an investigation after requested by the Minneapolis Police Department. On May 29, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for Floyd’s death; but no charges have been filed against the three officers as of June 1.
Demonstration & Protest
On May 27 hundreds of people were on the streets of Minneapolis late-night protesting for the death of Floyd. The demonstrations, which began 26 May, were initially peaceful but turned “extremely dangerous,” according to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Police officers had to create a barrier outside the police precinct that protesters have been targeting, smashing its windows by throwing items including water bottles. Authorities have responded by shooting tear gas.
As of June 2, more than 200 cites in the United States is protesting for the death of George Floyd. Many celebrities raised a voice against racism and police brutality through social media.
The Cloture
This mishap may make you sense a feeling of déjà vu because a similar incident has already befallen. Go down your memory lane. Do you recall the name, Eric Garner? Back in the day in 2014, he was an unarmed black man, repeated “I can’t breathe” eleven times after being placed in a chokehold by a New York Police Officer during an arrest in Staten Island, New York. What is common between Police Brutality and Racism? Both of 'em are frequently practiced in the USA. I mean, look at the history of police violence- The Watts Riot, Philando Castile shooting, The Akai Gurley Case, The Tamir Rice Case, and many more numerous cases which I cant list in this article.
Skin color is widely established as a discernible marker of racial belonging. Its 21st century now, still people are discriminating on the basis of caste, race, color, creed, and whatnot. Especially, Black People are treated like a criminal at first sight. In my perspective, whenever there is a case filed against a black person, the police gets fierce and act at the saturation point to restrain. I don't know what is up with police and Black Comunity. There are many identical incidents happening around the world about which we don't even have any idea.
