ZCZC
BFF-28
US-POLITICS-RACE-UNREST NEWSERIES
Officer charged with murder of black American as unrest sweeps US
MINNEAPOLIS, May 30, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Violent protests erupted
across the United States late Friday over the death of an unarmed
black man at the hands of police, with murder charges laid against a
Minneapolis officer failing to quell seething anger.
Demonstrators clashed with police for a fourth straight night in
the midwestern city of Minneapolis, where fires raged and there was
widespread looting as well as sustained cat-and-mouse clashes between
protesters and police.
US President Donald Trump ordered soldiers prepare to deploy to the
city, Minnesota National Guard Major General Jon Jensen confirmed
early Saturday.
The state has become the epicenter of violence since George Floyd
died there in an arrest by an officer who pinned him to the ground for
several minutes by kneeling on his neck.
Derek Chauvin was charged Friday with one count of third-degree
murder — unintentionally causing a death — and one count of
negligent manslaughter.
“This case is now ready, and we have charged it,” said county
prosecutor Mike Freeman as outrage grew over the latest death of an
African American in police custody.
But the charges failed to calm a shaken nation whose deep wounds
over racial inequality have been torn open anew, with riots raging
from New York to Los Angeles in one of the worst nights of civil
unrest in years.
In Atlanta police cruisers were attacked and set ablaze as rallies
spun out of control, while in the capital Washington protesters
collided with Secret Service agents in heated midnight scenes in front
of the White House.
Protests took hold in a swathe of cities including Boston, Dallas,
Denver, Des Moines, Houston, Las Vegas, Memphis, and Portland.
– ‘Chaos’ –
Authorities imposed a curfew Friday in Minneapolis after three
nights of protests left parts of the city in flames.
MORE/MRU/1759hrs
ZCZC
BFF-29
US-POLITICS-RACE-UNREST NEWSERIES-TWO LAST
But the demonstrators, many wearing masks to prevent the spread of
coronavirus, defiantly remained on the streets, facing off with police
who fired tear gas and flashbangs in efforts to regain control.
Looting was widespread, with images showing people coming out of
shops carrying armfuls of goods.
Officers were shot at by protesters, Minnesota’s governor Tim Walz
told reporters early Saturday.
“This is not about George’s death. This is not about inequities
that were real. This is about chaos,” he said.
But that view was not shared on the streets. “I need you to look in
my eyes and feel me,” said protester Naeema Jakes. “This is pain, this
is hurt.”
– Tougher charges –
Floyd’s relatives — who spoke Friday with President Trump —
welcomed news of the officer’s arrest as a “step on the road to
justice.”
But they said they hoped for tougher charges and action against the
other officers involved in Floyd’s detention and death.
“We want a first-degree murder charge. And we want to see the other
officers arrested.
“The pain that the black community feels over this murder and what
it reflects about the treatment of black people in America is raw and
is spilling out onto streets across America,” they said in a
statement.
Freeman said the three other officers present when Floyd died were
also under investigation, and that he anticipated charges would be
laid against them.
All four were fired from the police department Tuesday after video
surfaced of the arrest.
– ‘Cry and cry some more’ –
Protesters gathered outside officer Chauvin’s vandalized
Minneapolis home Friday, raising placards to passing cars and chanting
Floyd’s name.
“All I can do is just cry, and cry some more,” Tara Balian, 39,
told AFP. “It’s taken this long for people to realize that black lives
matter.”
Several protesters chanted “I can’t breathe” — Floyd’s words as
Chauvin’s knee pressed on his neck.
Trump, after attacking the protesters as “thugs” and threatening to
send in federal troops to deal harshly with them, shifted tone Friday,
announcing he had called Floyd’s family to express his “sorrow.”
“I understand the hurt, I understand the pain. People have really
been through a lot,” said the president, who stands accused of stoking
tensions with a series of provocative tweets.
Former vice president Joe Biden, who is challenging Trump for the
White House in November’s election, also spoke to Floyd’s family.
He called for justice and said it was time to heal the “open wound”
of systemic racism in the United States.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1759hrs