George Floyd, an African American man was arrested by the Minneapolis Police on the suspicion of using a $20 counterfeit note. He was forced to move into a police van. Floyd was detained and held onto the ground with three police officers on top of him. He repeatedly pleaded to them to let him stand because he could not breathe but was not entertained. One of the police officers, Derek Chauvin, had his knee on Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes, ultimately resulting in Floyd’s death.
Although Chauvin and the other three officers have since been sacked, protests and violence has erupted in America’s major cities, such as those of Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. The apathy of the police is regrettable. Third degree violence for a suspected counterfeit note screams injustice. The death of Floyd has again brought to the forefront, the brutality of the U.S. Police and the deaths of black Americans that have occurred at their hands. Hopefully, the perpetrators will be brought to justice, along with an end to the inherent racism that has lingered within America for centuries.
IFTIKHR MIRZA,
Islamabad.