Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired on Tuesday following the killing on an unarmed black man, George Floyd.
The officers involved in the incident have not been identified, but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) announced Tuesday afternoon that they had been terminated.
“It is the right decision for our city, the right decision for our community. It is the right decision for the Minneapolis Police Department,” Frey said at a news conference with Police Chief Medaria Arradondo. “We’ve stated our values, and ultimately we need to live by them.”
The Minneapolis Police Department originally said that Floyd, who was stopped Monday night on a report of a forgery, had “physically resisted officers.” But in a Tuesday interview with local outlet North News, Frey said that as additional information was revealed, “it became clear that the original statement was not accurate.”
Background
A video taken by a bystander shows one of the arresting officers pinning the man down to the ground while using his hands and knee on Floyd’s neck to hold him in place, apparently constricting his breathing and causing him to gasp for air.
“Please, please, please I can’t breathe. Please, man,” he begs.
Bystanders vocally protest the officer’s methods for several minutes until the man stops gasping.
H/T: The Washington Post