Mayor calls for officer to be charged in Minneapolis incident
Tear gas filled the air Tuesday night as thousands marched in the streets of Minneapolis to protest the killing of 47-year-old George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man.
Less than one day later - Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday called on prosecutors to file criminal charges against the white police officer seen on a bystander's video pressing his knee into Floyd's neck.
(Frey) "...I've wrestled with more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental questions. Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail? If you had done it, or I had done it, we'd be behind bars right now. And I cannot come up with a good answer to that question..."
The officers involved in Monday's encounter were responding to a report of a forgery in progress.
Video of the incident shows Floyd lying face down in the street with a white officer pinning his knee against his throat and the black man is gasping for air and groaning, "I can't breathe," while bystanders beseech the officer to let him up.
Floyd died at a hospital soon after.
The city has now identified the four officers involved, but would not identify which officer had his knee against Floyd's throat.
