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George Floyd killing: sister says officers should face murder charge as protests grow

The sister of George Floyd, the black man killed by police in Minneapolis after an incident captured on video in which an officer knelt on his neck as he lay on the ground, has called for those involved in his death to be charged with murder.

Bridget Floyd said that four of the officers involved, who were fired on Tuesday, “should be in jail for murder”.

George Floyd, 46, died on Monday. The FBI and authorities in Minnesota have launched investigations into his death. The officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck is white, and has been identified as Derek Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the force.

The killing prompted huge protests in Minneapolis on Tuesday night. Police in riot gear fired teargas and rubber bullets into the crowd.

On Wednesday, protesters continued to gather at the site of the altercation, where demonstrations remained peaceful throughout the evening.

Several blocks away, crowds surrounded a police precinct as some smashed in windows and vandalized the building. Police responded with more teargas, rubber bullets and flash grenades.

At least one person was struck by a deterrent round in the head, causing severe injuries and a trip to the hospital, freelance journalist Jared Goyette tweeted.

Reports emerged of looting of local shops, at least one of which caught fire.

Smaller demonstrations took place outside the home of Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman, amid calls for him to charge the officers with murder. Others gathered at the home of Chauvin.

Earlier on Wednesday, rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing Floyd’s family, issued a statement urging protesters to stay peaceful and socially distant. “We cannot sink to the level of our oppressors, and we must not endanger others during this pandemic,” it read.

In Los Angeles, Police Chief Michel Moore issued a statement calling the arrest video disturbing. On Wednesday evening, protesters blocked both sides of the 101 freeway. Local television footage showed one person who appeared to be receiving medical attention, and at least one patrol car with smashed windows.

On Wednesday morning, Bridget Floyd struggled to hold back tears as she spoke to NBC’s Today show about the family’s shock and grief.

“Me and my family are taking this very, very hard. It’s very heartbreaking, it’s very disturbing,” she said.

“I would like for these officers to be charged with murder, because that’s exactly what they did. They murdered my brother. He was crying for help.”

Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis, also called for criminal charges to be filed against Chauvin on Wednesday.

“I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” said Frey, who is white.

He later added: “I saw no threat. I saw nothing that would signal that this kind of force was necessary.”

Donald Trump called Floyd’s death “very sad and tragic” in a tweet on Wednesday evening.

“At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd,” he tweeted. “I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement.”

In the footage that emerged of Floyd’s violent detention, he can be heard to shout “I cannot breathe” and “Don’t kill me!” He then becomes motionless, eyes closed, face-first on the road.

On Tuesday evening, the mother of Eric Garner condemned Floyd’s killing. Garner was killed in New York City in July 2014 by a police officer who placed him in an illegal chokehold.

Gwen Carr said: “I was horrified to learn about the death of George Floyd, and to hear him utter the same dying declaration as my son Eric. I offer my deepest condolences to the Floyd family, and I stand with them in their fight to get justice for George.”

She said: “It’s painful but true that black lives continue to be destroyed by police officers in many communities across our country. They keep killing us. and it’s the same story again and again.”

Garner’s death became a focal point for national conversations on race and policing and Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe”, were chanted by protesters across the US.

Joe Biden called the killing “horrific”. “George Floyd’s life mattered. It mattered as much as mine, as much as anyone’s in this country. As least it should have,” the former vice-president said in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday. “Watching his life be taken in the same manner echoing nearly the same words of Eric Garner more than five years ago – ‘I cant breathe’ – is a tragic reminder that this was not an isolated incident but part of an ingrained, systemic cycle of injustice that exists in this country.”

On Wednesday, a fresh video clip emerged showing officers initially wrestling Floyd out of his car. The footage, broadcast by local station KMSP, shows the police trying to handcuff and arrest Floyd.

Crump, who spoke alongside Bridget Floyd on Wednesday, said additional video footage “which hasn’t been seen yet” by the public or the authorities had been sent to him by other bystanders and from business surveillance cameras.

Crump said that in some ways, the use of “violent, lethal and excessive force” on Floyd was more disturbing than the treatment of Garner, even, because the officer is seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for up to nine minutes.

“Nine minutes, while he was begging to breathe and begging for his life,” Crump told Today.

He said he hoped the killing would be a tipping point for the fairness of the US justice system.

“There cannot be two justice systems, one for black America and one for white America.”

Leading athletes, including LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton and Colin Kaepernick, have expressed their anger and grief over the death of George Floyd.

James, who has spoken out against police brutality in the past, compared the police officer’s stance during the killing of Floyd with Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest in 2016, during which he knelt during the national anthem, sparking a wave of similar action in solidarity across different sports to highlight racial injustice and related incidences of police brutality in the US.

Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report