World

Four Minnesota cops fired after death of unarmed black man

May 27, 2020 10:24 am

Video of the incident in Minneapolis was posted on social media. [Source: BBC]

Four Minnesota police officers have been fired after the death of a black man who was taken into custody and seen on video being pinned down by his neck.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the four officers were now “former employees”.

Footage shows the man, George Floyd, groaning and repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe” to the white officer.

Article continues after advertisement

The incident echoed that of Eric Garner, a black man who died being arrested in New York City in 2014.

The FBI has said it will investigate the Minneapolis incident, which took place on Monday evening.

Minnesota police said Mr Floyd died after a “medical incident” in a “police interaction”. They said he had been suspected of committing forgery.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed the four officers involved in the incident had been “terminated”.

“This is the right call,” he tweeted.

At a press conference earlier, Mr Frey had described the incident as “completely and utterly messed up”.

“I believe what I saw and what I saw is wrong on eve