George Floyd, 46, pleaded for his life, telling the police that he couldn’t breathe.
A family trustee of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, sued the city and four police officers in federal court on Wednesday for damages and interests.
The lawsuit was filed with the United States District Court in Minneapolis by Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer who represented other families in high-level police murders of black men, and the co- counsel Antonio Romanucci.
Crump, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, described it as “an unjustified death, a civil rights trial”.
Floyd’s death sparked nationwide street protests against police brutality and revived the American debate on racism amid the coronavirus pandemic – just months before the November 3 presidential election.
The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Minneapolis and four officers who participated in his arrest, suspected of having used a counterfeit $ 20 in a grocery store. He is asking for money for the agents’ compensatory, special and punitive damages and the city’s compensatory and special damages.
Derek Chauvin, a white policeman who knelt on Floyd while handcuffed, was arrested four days after his death. He pleaded not guilty to second degree murder and manslaughter.
Three other officers on the scene, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, were charged with being an accomplice in the affair.
Floyd, 46, pleaded for his life, telling the police that he couldn’t breathe.
His death, following several other assassinations of high-level African-American police, led to protests across the United States and around the world, with the Black Lives Matter group demanding an overhaul of law enforcement.
Last month, the United States Congress failed to agree on legislation intended to bring about changes in policing.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
