Author: Alexander Schatzberg On May 25 of 2020, an African-American man named George Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis police. He was suspected to have used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill to buy a pack of cigarettes. The manager of the shop where he used the counterfeit currency called the police, who arrested him. The proceed to kneel on his neck, to the point where he was unable to breathe. Despite his calls of "I can't breathe", the police did not relent. When he passed out, from lack of oxygen, the police did not get up. They stayed, kneeling on his neck, choking him. He died. Maybe if he was white, he would still be alive. This is an atrocious act of police brutality, and should not be tolerated. Several weeks after the death of George Floyd, President Trump was interviewed on the chokehold that is implemented by the police throughout the nation. He claims to not be in support of this restraint technique, yet what he said shows that he doesn't truly understand what is "doesn't support". His words: "I think the concept of chokehold sounds so innocent, so perfect. And then you realize, if it’s a one-on-one. But if it’s two-on-one, that’s a little bit a different story. Depending on the toughness and strength — you know, we’re talking about toughness and strength. There’s a physical thing here too.". What so few people realize is the frequency of the attacks on African-American lives by the police. The only reason that Floyd's death is receiving such a reaction is its publicity on the internet. If not for modern amenities, many of you would go on oblivious to the crimes being committed against our citizens. In 2019 alone, there were 1,004 fatal shootings by the police. More than a third of these victims were unarmed, and excessive force was used. These attacks are wrong, and need to be stopped. The African-American citizens of the U.S. are not being treated constitutionally, for all men are created equal. End the brutality. The video of Floyd being murdered is below. https://www.tmz.com/2020/06/14/new-video-george-floyd-murder-police-stand-by-ben-crump-lawyer/ Sources: https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2020-06-03/data-show-deaths-from-police-violence-disproportionately-affect-people-of-color https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html https://www.vox.com/2020/6/12/21289495/trump-fox-news-chokehold-lincoln
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