Protests have erupted across the United States in the past few days following the death of an unarmed black man in police custody.
George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on the man’s neck, suffocating him to death.
Floyd’s death, the latest in a line of killings of African-Americans by law enforcement officers in the US, has reawakened deep anger at generations of black people who have fallen victim to police brutality – and rekindled a centuries-long struggle for racial justice in America.
Who was George Floyd and how did he die?
George Floyd, a 46-year-old bouncer, was killed on Monday May 25 by Derek Chauvin, a police officer, who pressed his knee into Mr Floyd’s neck until he died while other police officers watched. Footage of the killing, taken by a bystander, showed Floyd lying face down and handcuffed, groaning for help and repeatedly saying, “please, I can’t breathe,” before becoming motionless.
Chauvin, had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total and two minutes and 53 seconds after Mr Floyd was unresponsive, according to a criminal complaint released by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
On June 1, a medical examiner in Minnesota classified Mr Floyd’s death as a homicide.
Mr Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the Floyd family, has now called for the Minneapolis police officers to face the more serious charge of first-degree murder, based on the new findings.
Read more: What happened on the night of George Floyd’s arrest and death?