Trump race row as police officer is charged
City leaders call for calm after George Floyd’s death in police custody ignites street violence and looting
THE US police officer seen pinning the neck of a black American man to the ground before his death has been charged with murder as protests spread across the country.
Derek Chauvin, whose arrest of George Floyd was captured on video and sparked anger over police brutality, was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Mr Chauvin, who is white, had been dismissed by the Minneapolis force on Monday after footage emerged of him kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck as he pleaded, “I can’t breathe”.
Donald Trump, the US president, triggered fresh controversy when he labelled the protesters “thugs” in a tweet sent about 1am and said “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”.
Twitter took the extraordinary step of hiding the message from users, saying that it broke its rules by “glorifying violence” and made users click a link before reading it.
Mr Trump’s comment was interpreted by some as suggesting police could fire on protesters.
The president responded with more criticism of the social networking site he has feuded with all week.
The National Guard had been sent into Minneapolis on Thursday night as the scene turned ugly, with thousands taking to the streets and setting fire to a police station.
Heated clashes between officers and demonstrators carried on throughout the night. At one point in the early morning a black reporter from CNN was arrested live on air when state troopers were clearing the streets.
The backlash was not confined to Minneapolis, with protests against police violence towards African-americans breaking out in at least nine other US cities.
More protests were expected last night and cities across the US were braced for violence.
In Louisville, Kentucky, seven people were shot in clashes with police while in New York there were more than 70 arrests.
Many demonstrators held “Black
Lives Matter” banners.
AMERICA was braced for a fourth night of violence last night as protests over the death of an unarmed black man while being restrained in police custody spread across the country.
Police forces were on alert over the backlash surrounding George Floyd, who was filmed gasping for breath and pleading for his life as a white policeman, Derek Chauvin, pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck in Minneapolis on Monday.
“Police are trained that this type of restraint with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous,” a criminal complaint filed against Mr Chauvin said. The policeman has been sacked from the force along with three other officers involved in the incident, and last night he was taken into custody and charged with third-degree murder. In a separate move, William Barr, the US attorney general, announced that the Justice Department is to investigate the incident. The 46-year-old’s death has sparked three days of mass discontent in the city − as protests spread to Chicago, New York, Denver, Los Angeles and Oakland on Thursday. Cheering protesters this week set fire to a police station close to where Mr Floyd was caught on a bystander’s camera saying “I can’t breathe” as Mr Chauvin pinned him down until he became motionless.
Dozens of fires were also started in nearby St Paul, where nearly 200 businesses were damaged or looted. Many had put up handmade signs asking to be spared. “This is a blackowned business,” read one. “This is community-owned business,” said another.
Donald Trump threatened action, saying, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” in a tweet that prompted a warning from Twitter for “glorifying violence”.
The US President, who has spoken to Mr Floyd’s family, criticised Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, for a “total lack of leadership” and warned that he would bring the situation “under control”. Mr Frey defended the city’s lack of action against the looters, saying it had become too dangerous for officers. Mr Trump tweeted: “Our nation’s deepest condolences and most heart saturday
felt sympathies to the family of George Floyd”.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, spoke to Mr Floyd’s family and said: “We need justice for George Floyd. We need real police reform, police reform which holds bad cops to account.”
Gunfire also broke out in several US cities, including Louisville, in Kentucky, where police said seven people were injured in one shooting incident.
Several hundred protesters had also turned out to demonstrate against the death of Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was shot dead by police as she slept in her home in March.
As smoke filled the Minneapolis skyline on Thursday, Tim Walz, the state governor, deployed about 500 soldiers to restore peace. Armed with assaultstyle rifles, the soldiers blockaded the streets around the most heavily damaged areas of the city as firefighters worked to put out blazes.
Mr Walz pleaded with protesters, insisting Mr Floyd’s death would bring change. “It is time to rebuild,” he said.
The protests in Minneapolis first erupted on Tuesday, after footage of
Mr Floyd’s death circulated online. It was reported last night that Mr Chauvin was acquainted with Mr Floyd before his arrest. According to Andrew Jenkins, of Minneapolis city council, the pair had previously both worked as security staff at the same nightclub.
The arrest of Chauvin was welcomed by Mr Floyd’s family, who described it as a welcome but overdue step on the road to justice.
Barack Obama, the former US president, condemned the state of race relations in the country. “This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America,” he tweeted.
Last month, viral footage showing the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black jogger in Georgia, at the hands of a white former police officer also sparked public unrest.
Will Robinson, a local musician who has been organising peaceful protests in Minneapolis, said the charges against Mr Chauvin did not go far enough.
“He needs first-degree murder, and the other officers need to be arrested too,” Mr Robinson told The Daily Telegraph. “If it was anyone else, they would get charged.”