By Spy Correspondence and Andrew Irumba
Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer who was seen on video of handcuffed black man named George Floyd, who later died in custody has been arrested by state investigators, Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington announced.
In the video clip, Floyd could be heard and seen pleading for mercy from the police officer, saying “I can’t breathe, Please officer, giver me water please please…”.
The development comes after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on 29 May acknowledged the “abject failure” of the response to the protests that rocked Minneapolis this week, and called for swift justice for the police officers involved in Floyd’s death.
On 29 May, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called for swift justice for the police officers involved in the death of George Floyd.
George Floyd died in police custody after being pinned to the ground and handcuffed by police officers who arrived in response to a call from a grocery store claiming Floyd had tried to pay for his purchase with an allegedly counterfeit cheque
One of the four officers involved in the incident had held a knee to the neck of Floyd, who was saying “I can’t breathe” multiple times but was ignored by police. Other three police officers were watching and guarding the scene, while dispersing bystanders.
A wave of protests erupted in Minneapolis after the footage of the incident went viral, followed by an attack on the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd precinct headquarters, where the responding officers, who have since been fired, worked.
The police responded with tear gas and nonlethal ammunition, while Governor Walz called up the National Guard to help deal with the unrest.
