A black man has died in Minneapolis police custody after video shared online from a bystander showed a white officer kneeling on his neck during his arrest as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe, abc reports.
According to the report, his death Monday night after a struggle with officers was under investigation by the FBI and state agents. It drew comparisons to the case of Eric Garner, an unarmed black New York man who died in 2014 after he was placed in a chokehold by police and pleaded for his life saying he couldn’t breathe.
On Tuesday morning, Jacob Frey, Mayor of Minneapolis tendered an apology to the black community in a post on his Facebook page.
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According to the Minneapolis police, the black man matched the description of a suspect in a forgery case and resisted arrest. The video shows an unidentified officer kneeling on his neck and ignoring his pleas. “Please, please, please I can’t breathe. Please, man,” the man is heard telling the officer.
After several minutes, one of the officers is heard telling the man to “relax.” “Man, I can’t breathe,” the man responds. Several more minutes pass and the man becomes motionless under the officer’s restraint.
Several witnesses had gathered on a sidewalk near where the man was lying, with some recording on their phones. Bystanders became increasing agitated as the black man pleads with police, with one bystander telling officers that they need to let him breathe.
Watch video:
Here we go again.
This man is dead because of this government foot soldier abusing his power.
I'm not seeing any possible justification for this.
Will these officers be held accountable? pic.twitter.com/mqEfLxerAc
— Jeff Charles (@JeffOnTheRight) May 26, 2020
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, was asked about the use of the knee on the man’s neck during the arrest.
“We clearly have policies in place regarding placing someone under control,” Arradondo said, stating that taking a look at what happened and how those policies apply “will be part of the full investigation we’ll do internally.”
Officers in Minneapolis were called about 8 p.m. Monday to investigate a report of a forgery at a business, according to police spokesman John Elder. Police found the man, believed to be in his 40s, matching the suspect’s description in his car.“He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers,” Elder said in a statement.
“Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress.”
The man, who was not identified, was taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center where he died a short time later, police said.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has joined the FBI in its investigation. All body camera footage has been turned over to the BCA, which investigates most police shootings and in-custody deaths. The officers involved have been put on paid administrative leave, per department protocol.