MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2020) Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Saturday that local authorities would deploy state resources, namely 1,500 officers, to major cities, including Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, amid protests that erupted in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, at the hands of a white police officer in the city of Minneapolis.
"To ensure peaceful protests, Governor Greg Abbott has sent state resources to the cities of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin to maintain public safety ... DPS [Texas Department of Public Safety] has sent more than 1,500 officers to assist local police departments," Abbott tweeted.
The governor added that the state authorities could provide more resources if necessary.
Protests have erupted across the United States this week after Floyd's death in police custody on Monday. A video circulating online shows Derek Chauvin, the policeman, pinning unarmed Floyd to the ground with his knee, Floyd repeatedly tells the police officer that he cannot breathe until becoming unresponsive. Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
