The Hip Hop community is outraged after a video of four police officers suffocating a black man to death went viral early Tuesday (May 26).
According to CNN, officers responding to an alleged forgery in progress on Monday night (May 25) were told a person who matches the suspect description was sitting in a car and appeared to be under the influence.
Once two of the officers arrived on the scene, they said the man — George Floyd — “physically resisted” when ordered to get out. Officers then handcuffed Floyd who “appeared to be suffering medical distress.”
In the video clip, white officer Derek Chauvin is seen putting his knee directly on Floyd’s neck and holding it there for a prolonged period of time. Although he was later taken to the hospital, doctors were unable to save him. Following an FBI investigation, all four officers have been fired.
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Ice Cube shared the video to his Twitter account and asked, “How long will we go for Blue on Black Crime before we strike back???”
Meek Mill — who’s been an advocate for criminal justice reform — also shared the clip alongside an article from The Washington Post and was admittedly irate another black man had been killed at the hands of a white police officer.
“FBI investigates death of black man in Minneapolis after video shows police officer kneeling on his neck – The Washington Post,” he wrote in the caption. “It’s really not healthy to see white cops killing black men … it’s send a flare of anger and hatred to the brain!”
Ice-T also weighed in on the Floyd killing and promised to keep taking a stand against any injustices — despite playing Detective Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for the past 20 years.
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“I play a Cop on TV,” he tweeted. “But I’ll NEVER stop speaking about injustice…EVER. F that.”
During the incident, Floyd was begging for water as bystanders attempted to deter police from further physical action.
“Please, I can’t breathe,” Floyd screamed for several minutes before going silent. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement he’d be representing Floyd’s family.
“We all watched the horrific death of George Floyd on video as witnesses begged the police officer to take him into the police car and get off his neck,” Crump said. “This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.”
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St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter called the video “one of the most vile and heartbreaking images I’ve ever seen.” He tweeted, “The officer who stood guard is just as responsible as his partner; both must be held fully accountable. This must stop now.”
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Floyd’s death mirrors the 2014 Staten Island killing of Eric Garner who repeatedly told officers he couldn’t breathe as they were attempting to detain him. In this case, no charges were filed against Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who was shown on video choking Garner.
Snoop Dogg, Common, Safaree and Rev. Al Sharpton are among the many notable names calling for justice.
Check out the reactions below.
