THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD WAS ‘MODERN DAY LYNCHING’
Dying man pleads 27 times to cop on his neck: ‘I can’t breathe’
GEORGE Floyd was the victim of a modern day lynching, his brother says.
Grieving Philonise Floyd spoke ahead of the trial of ex-police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of murder.
A US jury saw a horrifying video, lasting nine minutes and 29 seconds, of Mr Floyd’s dying moments with Chauvin’s digging his knee deep into the victim’s neck.
The arrested dad pleads 27 times: “I can’t breathe. Please I can’t breathe.”
He cries out for his dead mother and says: “Tell my kids I love them.”
He goes on: “I will probably die this way, I’m through, I’m through. They’re going to kill me man. My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts.”
But the Minneapolis court heard Chauvin, 45, refused to move and “does not let up and does not get up”.
Witnesses tell him: “He’s not moving. Get off his neck.”
One woman says: “They’ve killed him. He’s black they don’t care.”
Mr Floyd’s final words are “I can’t breathe” before he falls unconscious, the court heard.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said: “You can believe your eyes.
“That it’s homicide, it’s murder. Mr Floyd died one breath at a time over an extended period of time.”
The court heard Mr Floyd, 46, was arrested after allegedly trying to buy cigarettes at a Minneapolis store in May with a fake $20 bill.
Before the case began George Floyd’s family took the knee outside the court building. The family’s lawyers warned the “world is watching”.
Philonise Floyd said: “The guy was kneeling on my brother’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. A guy who was sworn in to protect. He killed my brother in broad daylight. That was a modern day lynching.”
Chauvin denies charges of second and third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
Video of George Floyd’s arrest sparked outrage and global protests for racial justice. The trial continues.