"I Can't Breathe."
As seen by the footage, Floyd had been held down up to 7 minutes. In spite of Floyd's pleads for the officer to spare him, the officer had not listened and continued to suffocate Floyd.
The video that has surfaced virally shows Floyd begging, "Please, please, please, I can't breathe. My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Please, please. I can't breathe."
The owner of the Minneapolis grocery store that was alongside the homicide has stated that an employee of his was "crying, telling me 'Mike, Mike. What should I do? The guy can't breathe. They're killing him" Mike Abumayyaleh, the owner of Cup Foods, told NBC's Gabe Gutierrez.
Abumayyaleh said, "'Call the police on the police. And make sure it's recorded.' And she did that."
Despite the murder being recorded, the four policemen who were involved have only been fired and yet to be arrested for the murder of Floyd. Since then, protests have been raised to call for the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, the one who appeared to be committing the murder. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng.
According to Wikipedia, Chauvin has had 18 complaints on his official record, two of which ended in discipline from the department including official letters of reprimand. He had been involved in three officer-involved shootings, one of which was fatal.
Influencers and stars have also come together and used their platforms to inform other people about this tragedy, they have called for people to donate, sign petitions and pressure the Minnesota State Office to prosecute and arrest the four officers involved.
Floyd, 46, was a father, a brother, and a damn great person. We are saddened and heartbroken by his death and would like for you to help us contribute to make sure this never occurs again.
George Floyd is not the first black person to experience hate-crimes that go as far as murder by the people who were supposed to protect him, but our job now is to stop this from happening to the next one. Sign the petition in our bio to pressure the Minnesota State Office to prosecute the officers, text FLOYD to 55156, call 612-348-5550 to pressure Mike Freeman, the DA, to charge and arrest the police officers. Finally, spread awareness, join protests (safely), and don't be afraid to speak up about it.
https://t.co/xTLLpq7EkH
#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd