Goodbye to Floyd, whose death triggered outrage across globe
HOUSTON/ WASHINGTON: George Floyd, whose death under the knee of a police officer triggered countrywide protests that forced the US to confront persisting racial inequities, was being laid to rest next to his mother’s grave at a private funeral in his hometown of Houston on Tuesday.
Thousands of mourners braved sweltering Texas heat to see his casket, which had been kept for public viewing for hours on Monday. American flags fluttered along the route to the Fountain of Praise church in Houston as throngs of mourners, wearing face coverings, waited.
Floyd’s last words - “I can’t breathe” - became a rallying cry for anti-racism protesters in the US as well as in the UK, France, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Sweden,
Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Hong Kong and South Korea among others even as the Covid-19 pandemic rages. Protests are set to continue in the US.
Hours after the city council of
Minneapolis, where Floyd died, vowed to disband its police department, US President Donald Trump defended the police, saying 99.9% of them are “great, great people”. At a White House roundtable with national and local law enforcement chiefs on Monday, he said, “There won’t be dismantling of our police.”
DEREK CHAUVIN’S BAIL RAISED TO $1.25 MILLION
Bail for the white former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering Floyd was raised by $250,000 to $1.25 million at a hearing on Monday.
Derek Chauvin, 44, has been charged with second- and thirddegree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s May 25 death in Minneapolis by kneeling on his neck. He made his first court appearance by video link. He was handcuffed in an orange jumpsuit and sitting at a small table. Access was limited to a small group of reporters.
Chauvin’s bail was raised to $1.25 million from $1 million without conditions, and to $1 million from $750,000 with conditions.