US riots: why are there protests over the death of George Floyd?

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?

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