Sehar Timings Mar 29 - Ramazan 18

Lahore
LHR
04:36 AM
Karachi
KHI
05:12 AM
Islamabad
ISB
04:38 AM
Peshawar
PWR
04:42 AM
Quetta
QTA
05:07 AM

News

Furor in US after black man dies as white policeman kneels on neck

May 27, 2020 03:24 PM


A video of a handcuffed black man dying while a Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for more than five minutes sparked a fresh furor in the US over police treatment of African Americans Tuesday.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey fired four police officers following the death in custody of George Floyd on Monday as the suspect was pressed shirtless onto a Minneapolis street, one officer's knee on his neck.

"Your knee in my neck. I can't breathe... Mama. Mama," Floyd pleaded.

Bystanders filmed the scene as Floyd, thought to be in his 40s, slowly grew silent and motionless, unable to move even as the officers taunted him to "get up and get in the car."

He was taken to hospital where he was later declared dead.

Frey expressed outrage as calls rose for the officers to be prosecuted for murder.

"What I saw was wrong at every level," he said of the video. "For five minutes, we watched as a white officer pressed his knee into the neck of a black man," Frey said. "Being black in America should not be a death sentence."

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said he had been retained by Floyd's family. Crump said in a statement that Floyd had been stopped by police over a forgery accusation, a charge often used for writing bad checks or using fake banknotes for purchases.

"This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning on a non-violent charge," he said.

Floyd's death recalled the 2014 choking death of New Yorker Eric Garner by police, who was being detained for illegally selling cigarettes.

'Pure evil'

His death helped spark the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he had passed the case to the FBI for investigation, which could turn it into a federal rights violation case.

But there were mounting calls for the officers' arrest on homicide charges. "This is pure evil," tweeted Nekima Levy Armstrong, an African American Minneapolis civil rights attorney. "Those same officers need to be charged and convicted of murder," she said.

Floyd's death comes on the heels of two other deaths of African-Americans that involved police wrongdoing.

On March 13 in Louisville, three white Kentucky policemen forced their way into the home of a black woman, Breonna Taylor, and shot her in a drug investigation. And police and prosecutors in Brunswick, Georgia allegedly covered up the killing of a young black jogger by the son of a retired investigator for local law enforcement.

The police allegedly withheld for two months a video showing Ahmaud Arbery, 25, being followed and then shot with a shotgun in broad daylight. The families of Arbery and Taylor are also being represented by Crump.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the Minneapolis case showed that US police continue to use harsh treatment on African Americans accused of minor charges. "This tragic video shows how little meaningful change has emerged to prevent police from taking the lives of black people," said ACLU policing specialist Paige Fernandez.

"Even in places like Minneapolis, where chokeholds are technically banned, black people are targeted by the police for low-level offenses and are subjected to unreasonable, unnecessary violence," she said in a statement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XpMCGt6uvA


Most Read

  1. Aitchison College principal resigns over differences with Punjab governor Aitchison College principal resigns over differences with Punjab governor
  2. Man murders young sister by smothering her with pillow in Toba Tek Singh Man murders young sister by smothering her with pillow in Toba Tek Singh
  3. Aitchison College students, parents stage protest against principal’s resignation Aitchison College students, parents stage protest against principal’s resignation
  4. Tribal firefight in Gotki, Motorways section shut down Tribal firefight in Gotki, Motorways section shut down
  5. Five Chinese among six killed in Shangla suicide bombing Five Chinese among six killed in Shangla suicide bombing
  6. Transferred: Lawman bears the brunt of flagging down lawmaker Transferred: Lawman bears the brunt of flagging down lawmaker

Opinion

  1. IMEC to sabotage CPEC
    IMEC to sabotage CPEC

    By Dr Asif Channer

  2. 1947 TO FORM 47
    1947 TO FORM 47

    By Dr Asif Channer

  3. Beijing wants to further highlight industrial sector in its country and take scientific innovation to new heights....
    Beijing wants to further highlight industrial sector in its country and take scientific innovation to new heights....

    By Ali Ramay

  4. Global race: China will reduce its unnecessary expenses
    Global race: China will reduce its unnecessary expenses

    By Ali Ramay

  5. Channer Pir: The Great Saint of Cholistan
    Channer Pir: The Great Saint of Cholistan

    By Dr Asif Channer

  6. Literate the Religious Illiterate
    Literate the Religious Illiterate

    By Dr Asif Channer