‘I Can’t Breathe’: 4 Minneapolis Officers Fired After Black Man Dies in Custody

[GooooMarquette]

Horribly sad story, and disturbing video.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/us/minneapolis-police-man-died.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20200526&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=88591053&segment_id=29201&user_id=a4394b6a5672354a123af665691a6f2d

According to the mayor's statement, we don't even see all of it. Apparently, he was handcuffed and pinned down for five minutes, literally dying on video with an officer's knee on his neck.

I try to give the police the benefit of the doubt if it's ambiguous because I know they have a dangerous and sh!tty job, but this guy was clearly no longer a threat. Heck, the officer in the foreground of the video was more concerned with the onlookers.

Wtf is wrong with people?

[#UnleashSean]

Officer should go to prison for manslaughter. To bad he'll get paid leave.

[dgies9156]

After having lived through Laquan McDonald in Chicago, I can believe anything.

As a Dad whose son is completing his BA in hopes of being a policeman, I'm learning how difficult that job can be everyday. It's tough and I have a newfound respect for people who do the job of a policeman well (hint: not spending their lives as municipal revenue officers or being 21-year-old jags who are on a power high).

But the expectation we have of our policemen and women is they respect the dignity of all persons with whom they come in contact. That means in Chicago's and Minneapolis' case (or Baltimore's too, as a third case like this happened in Baltimore), you use the minimum level of force necessary to detain and subdue a suspect. Training has to focus on that point and weed out those whose temperament will lead to abuse and degradation of suspects.

Otherwise, you turn small-time thugs like Mr. McDonald into folk heroes.

[mu_hilltopper]

Honestly, the policeman's actions just .. boggle the mind.    Police aren't trained to choke the life out of people, and yet, that's precisely what is on the video.   

And it's not some split second decision, it was minutes of, no other way to put this: a slow motion murdering.

[keefe]

F#cking animal.

You drop those cops in Fallujah and they sh1t their panties.

Big difference when the other guys can fight back. F#cking cowards.

I hope those four cops go to prison and get anally raped nightly.

Their write-up, claiming the victim was "suffering medical distress," is so morally repulsive - since Emancipation, cops have killed black men, or watched others do it, then lied about what actually happened.

Thank God for cell cams.

I hope those four suffer unspeakable horrors. What a betrayal of trust and public confidence.

[WarriorDad]

Jack Booted Thugs.  Hope they are convicted and put in the general population in prison.

[mu_hilltopper]

I'm not ready to throw all four of them into hell.   We saw the one standing cop, and that's solidly awful.   We need to know where the other two were, how far away, if they could see what was happening, etc.

[keefe]

I'm not ready to throw all four of them into hell.   We saw the one standing cop, and that's solidly awful.   We need to know where the other two were, how far away, if they could see what was happening, etc.

Three cops held the man down while the 4th kept the crowd in check.

I call it murder.

[Elonsmusk]

Three cops held the man down while the 4th kept the crowd in check.

I call it murder.

Agree. This is IMO the absolute worst of the recent officer involved deaths of black men.  Even if this guy resisted arrest initially (which we haven't seen footage to verify that even happened), there is ZERO explanation for how 4 armed cops on one man weren't in control of the situation without resorting to the brutal knee to neck and throat.

I tend to support police in general and would have had a hard time convicting in some of the previous cases if I were on a jury - but this one?  This is a no-brainer. Guilty on 2nd degree murder. Not manslaughter.

[Hards Alumni]

Enough is enough, throw them in the pen and toss the key.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Agree. This is IMO the absolute worst of the recent officer involved deaths of black men.  Even if this guy resisted arrest initially (which we haven't seen footage to verify that even happened), there is ZERO explanation for how 4 armed cops on one man weren't in control of the situation without resorting to the brutal knee to neck and throat.

I tend to support police in general and would have had a hard time convicting in some of the previous cases if I were on a jury - but this one?  This is a no-brainer. Guilty on 2nd degree murder. Not manslaughter.

I saw some surveillance video this morning showing the cops cuffing Mr Lloyd.  He was not resisting. A cop was bending down and *appeared* to be yelling in his face.  The cops then marched him towards a squad.  Not sure what transpired between the end of that video and the knee on the neck, but it didn't look like resisting during the duration of that particular video.


Edit:  found the video:

https://twitter.com/MasterAtWorkINC/status/1265532755011686400?s=09

[LloydsLegs]

Thank god for cell cams (and body cams and other forms of surveillance video) is right.  It is the only thing in all of these cases that even has the potential to bring police officers to justice.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Thank god for cell cams (and body cams and other forms of surveillance video) is right.  It is the only thing in all of these cases that even has the potential to bring police officers to justice.

Minneapolis is full of cameras.  Which makes these cops even more savage.  They have to know they are being filmed, both by civilians, private security cameras and municipal cameras.

[jesmu84]

How many incidents between police and citizens, or even between citizens themselves, happened similar to this before the advent of convenient mobile cameras where the victims received no justice? Sad to ponder.

[Galway Eagle]

How many incidents between police and citizens, or even between citizens themselves, happened similar to this before the advent of convenient mobile cameras where the victims received no justice? Sad to ponder.

Even since cameras... Ex Rodney king

[Warriors4ever]

I was a public defender. Lots and lots of incidents, but until cameras, no one would publicly believe our clients.
As recently as the 2000's, (retired this past decade)I had a very good judge tell me that she was glad I had been able to present a clearly credible outside witness on a motion, as otherwise she would have had to find against my client. And that was, as stated, a very good judge.

[MU82]

Sad stuff. Glad to see all Scoopers agreeing.

Not sure how we can ever end systemic racism, which is sadder still.

[muwarrior69]

Sad stuff. Glad to see all Scoopers agreeing.

Not sure how we can ever end systemic racism, which is sadder still.

Georgia, now this in Minneapolis of all places.

[The Sultan]

Georgia, now this in Minneapolis of all places.

Different issue, different city but...

https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/05/amy-cooper-central-park-racism-video.html

[Jockey]

Different issue, different city but...

https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/05/amy-cooper-central-park-racism-video.html

To me, this is really frightening. Think of how many black men have been killed over the centuries because of privileged white "Karens" saying exactly what she did. Great to see she was fired and she will hopefully be a pariah for years to come.

[tower912]

The bird watcher from Central Park is trying to make peace.

[buckchuckler]

To me, this is really frightening. Think of how many black men have been killed over the centuries because of privileged white "Karens" saying exactly what she did. Great to see she was fired and she will hopefully be a pariah for years to come.

Kind of an aside, but how did the term "Karen" become a thing?   And basically it just means white chick?  Sorry for the probably ignorant quetion.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Kind of an aside, but how did the term "Karen" become a thing?   And basically it just means white chick?  Sorry for the probably ignorant quetion.

Its a reddit thing.  It did mean an angry white mom that "wanted to speak to your manager" type.

Now it's just a word for a bitchy white woman.

[buckchuckler]

Its a reddit thing.  It did mean an angry white mom that "wanted to speak to your manager" type.

Now it's just a word for a bitchy white woman.

[Pakuni]

To me, this is really frightening. Think of how many black men have been killed over the centuries because of privileged white "Karens" saying exactly what she did. Great to see she was fired and she will hopefully be a pariah for years to come.

I'm a little torn about this.
She obviously behaved terribly and the criticism of her behavior is well deserved. Charges for making a false 911 call seem appropriate as well.
But knowing nothing else about her - and none of us do - it seems that rooting for her to be made a pariah and celebrating her losing her job isn't an especially humane stance. We've all done things we regret, probably most of them involving lousy treatment of others, and fortunately those things don't define most of us for life.
I think we're better off hoping that this becomes a harsh learning experience for her, and others like her, rather than a life-destroying event.
It's worth noting that the victim here is taking a far more charitable stance than many.