Minnesota files civil rights charge against Minneapolis Police Dept over Floyd's death

Jun 02, 2020

Minnesota [USA], June 3 : The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department in light of the death of George Floyd in police custody, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced on Tuesday.
"Our Minnesota Department of Human Rights today filed a civil rights charge against the MPD. Minnesota Department of Human Rights will investigate the department's policies, procedures, and practices over the past 10 years to determine if they engaged in systemic discriminatory practices," Walz tweeted.
"My administration will use every tool at our disposal to deconstruct generations of systemic racism in Minnesota. This effort is one of many steps to come in our effort to restore trust with communities that have been unseen and unheard for far too long," he added.
On May 25, the 46-year old Floyd, an African American man, died in police custody after a police officer knelt on his neck for at least eight minutes.
A video of the arrest was posted online the following day which sparked nationwide protests that turned violent and even looting took place. Looters targeted several shops and ransacked luxury stores from Manhattan to Soho and Midtown in New York City for the second night in a row.
An independent autopsy commissioned by George Floyd's family found that he died of asphyxia due to sustained pressure to his neck and back, his family said in a statement on Monday.
"The evidence is consistent with mechanical asphyxia as the cause of death," Dr Allecia Wilson, one of the examiner was quoted as saying by CNN. "Sustained pressure on the right side of Floyd's carotid artery impeded blood flow to the brain, and weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe," he added.