Minneapolis have sacked four officers involved in the brutal murder of a black man on Monday, after a chaotic protests took place on Tuesday.
A video presently circulating on various social media platforms had shown how the deceased was arrested and pinned to the ground by an officer’s knee.
Mr. Floyd, 46, a resident of St. Louis Park, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb, was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m. Monday at Hennepin County Medical Center, according to the medical examiner.
The police in a statement confirmed the arrest took place on Monday evening, after officers responded to a call about a man suspected of forgery. The police said the man was found sitting on top of a blue car and “appeared to be under the influence.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis tweeted that four officers involved in the case had been terminated. “This is the right call,” he said.
After the graphic video circulated widely on social media, the mayor denounced the actions of the four officers who were involved and said on Tuesday afternoon that they had been fired. He identified the victim as George Floyd.
The Police Department’s statement said that no weapons had been used and that the officers’ body cameras were recording. Mr. Frey said at a news conference Tuesday that he had seen the video “taken and posted by a civilian” but not the body camera footage.
The F.B.I. is conducting a federal civil rights investigation, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement. The state bureau also said that it was conducting its own investigation at the request of the Police Department and that it would release its findings to the Hennepin County district attorney’s office.
Hundreds of people gathered on Tuesday at the intersection where Mr. Floyd had been subdued, protesting the conduct of the officers.
