A pandemic is evidently not enough to stop racism and violence. On May 25, 46-year-old Black man, George Floyd, was suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill in a transaction at Cup Foods. White officer, Derek Chauvin, forced Floyd to the ground in handcuffs and pressed on his throat with his knee. Even as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe, Chauvin continued to kneel down on him for more than eight minutes. When the paramedics finally arrived, Floyd was unconscious and later pronounced dead. Thus, in exchange for a $20 bill, George Floyd was forced to give up his life.
“He died for nothing — something about a fake bill — that was nothing,” said Jason Polk, 53, a city bus driver and one of a number of South Minneapolis residents who have expressed outrage over the case,” according to The New York Times. This case of police brutality in Minneapolis has moved the nation to protest.
Over the span of the three days since the murder, the protests grew more violent. Firstly, a video showed that three officers also held down Floyd and kept a growing crowd back as they killed him. The next day, people began to protest, calling for justice for Floyd, Officer Chauvin to be arrested for murder, and for an end to the racism that Blacks face from law enforcement.
These protests began peacefully, with troves of people holding up signs. They, however, quickly escalated to a more violent and deadly level. Peaceful protesters are met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and painful arrests from officers. They even went as far to arrest Journalist Omar Jimenez and his CNN crew on live television for simply doing his job as a journalist, as well as pepper spraying a young girl. As a result of this, some protesters retaliated in an equally violent manner, like setting police cars on fire, smashing storefronts and burning down the Minneapolis precinct that was not punishing the officers responsible for Floyd’s death.
Some cities have gone as far to impose curfews, like in Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. This has not been so collectively done by mayors and governors since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. States have also activated their national guards as a means of supporting officers and stopping violence, though their presence has not made protesters feel any safer. President Trump has chosen to add to the situation by stating that the military is ready to use its full force if necessary. Again, using violence to stop violence that was exacerbated by the law enforcement themselves.
These protests have also revealed that undercover cops can be found inciting violence in crowds as well. Twitter user Zack Bornstein pointed out, “NYC friends, I noticed all the undercover cops are wearing white armbands, probably to recognize each other. Be careful.” Since his tweet, many have also realized that the same people wearing white bands have hidden cameras attached to them as well. Since the public has now discovered this, it is likely that the color and garment will change, but still protesters can avoid potential arrest by being wary of individuals with similar markers.
It is noteworthy that just two weeks ago, Americans across the United States were protesting nationally issued lock down orders.
As they went to barber shops and beaches, all they received were fines for essentially jeopardizing others’ safety. Now, people are in the streets exercising their right to protest, found in the Bill of Rights, and in return they are being abused, arrested, and for some, even having a police car plow through them.
The inequality in the US handling of Black’s cases is no secret.
In fact, the United States has a terrible track record of police brutality towards African Americans.
George Floyd repeating that he could not breathe eerily mirrors Eric Garner’s death in 2014. Garner was also a black man, choked to death simply because he was selling cigarettes without tax stamps. As he was placed in an illegal chokehold by Officer Daniel Pantaleo, he too said that he couldn’t breathe. More recently, 25-year-old black Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead in Georgia simply because he was jogging. From back to just a few decades ago where officers lynched Blacks with no punishment to stop and frisk policies putting them in jail to the current continuous deaths at the hands of officers, it was only inevitable that these protests would arise.
In fact, across social media platforms, people have compiled lists of Black American citizens who have been killed by officers for unjustifiable reasons. Aljazeera put this into perspective saying, “In Utah, the African Americans comprise just 1.06 percent of the population but they accounted for 10 percent of police killings over the past seven years – a disproportional rate of 9.21 times. In Minnesota, Black Americans are nearly four times as likely to be killed by law enforcement, with Black victims comprising 20 percent of those killed, despite comprising only 5 percent of the overall population.” The law enforcement system is then clearly not acting from a law and order perspective, but from a racist and prejudiced one as well.
The protesters’ anger and frustration is further realized in that only one of the officers, Officer Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree mansalughter and awaits to hear how many years he will have to serve in jail. Though some are satisfied that he is being punished for his crime, others believe that third-degree murder is too lenient. It implies that the murder was not done intentionally, yet video footage and charging documents convey the officers kept Floyd pinned down well after he was unconscious. Thus, Officer Chauvin was not acting out of self-defense or by accident; there was thought put into his action and that mediation makes him at least able to be charged with second-degree murder or worse. The other three officers involved have not received punishment.
As today, May 31, marks the sixth night of protests, Floyd’s death has sparked a movement in the United States. Even as thousands continue to be arrested across the country and officers themselves are injured, the fight against police brutality does not seem to falter. His death is representative of all of the Black deaths that should have never happened at the hands of officers who went unpunished. Protests have even started outside the United States, including the United Kingdom, Berlin, and Toronto. America seeks justice for this racial inequality, and the protests are an indication that the flames of fury and frustration will not be quelled with anything but reform.
