Police chiefs condemn knee-on-neck killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis cop

https://news.yahoo.com/police-chiefs-condemn-george-floyd-killing-death-knee-minneapolis-officer-203423522.html

Dylan StablefordSenior Writer
,Yahoo News•May 28, 2020

Police chiefs around the country publicly condemned the actions of the Minneapolis officer who was seen in a video kneeling on the neck of a prone black man who struggled and gasped for breath for nearly eight minutes. The man, George Floyd, 46, who was unarmed and surrounded by police as he lay on the ground, died in custody on Monday.

The footage triggered near-universal outrage, including among law enforcement officials. Four Minneapolis officers were fired the next day, as local and federal authorities launched an investigation. Minneapolis was rocked by protests that turned violent.

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William Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, said he “can’t see any legal justification, any self-defense justification or any moral justification” for Chauvin’s actions.

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Floyd, who worked as a security guard at a nightclub, was handcuffed and on the ground. Police had been called to the scene by a store owner who believed a customer was trying to pass a counterfeit bill.

“I haven’t heard anybody justify this,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told the Wall Street Journal, adding that he couldn’t recall such unanimous condemnation of an officer’s actions by fellow police officers.

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Protests in Minneapolis turned deadly overnight, with a fatal shooting and stabbing, widespread looting and fires in the city. Police deployed tear gas in an attempt to control the rioting, and National Guard troops were called in.

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