On Monday, in Minneapolis, George Floyd, a 46 year old black man pleaded for his life as Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyds neck for 7 minutes, until Floyds already handcuffed body went limp. Floyd was murdered by the racist American police force for the supposed crime of writing a bad cheque.
“I Can’t Breathe” the harrowing final words of Eric Garner, another black man who was choked to death by a police officer in New York 6 years ago were tragically echoed by the police department’s latest victim.
Now these 3 words have become a rallying cry, as protests have erupted across Minneapolis, with local people forcing the police out of their neighbourhoods and forming a perimeter outside Chauvins house, “A murderer lives here” is emphatically painted onto his driveway. In a show of support for their murdering colleague, hundreds of police officers have now surrounded the house to protect Chauvin, further confirmation that the problem isn’t “one bad egg”.
Police violence has escalated quickly against the protesters, with riot cops now deploying tear gas and rubber bullets against the enraged crowds, a far cry from the reserved, placid police response to the white, armed milita’s who stormed town halls across America to protest the Covid-19 lockdown.
We encourage everyone to show their solidarity to the family the and protesters fighting for justice, although the 4 police officers involved in the murder have been fired, they are yet to be charged with a crime, much like Eric Garners killer Daniel Pantaleo who has still evaded justice. We can only hope that through mass action and sustained pressure the family get some closure.
