MINNEAPOLIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2020) Military helicopters are hovering over Minneapolis where hundreds of people have gathered for a peaceful protest over the death of African American George Floyd in police custody, a Sputnik correspondent reports.
Two military helicopters were seen in the sky above Minneapolis on Saturday. A local resident confirmed to Sputnik that this was the first time that military helicopters hovered over the city since the George Floyd protests started.
On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered in the Minneapolis neighborhood where Floyd was arrested. The grocery store right next to the site of the arrest has been turned into a memorial using flowers, candles, balloons and banners. Streets leading up to the spot are all filled with banners attached to street posts and cars.
An elderly white man named John told Sputnik that he arrived in Minneapolis in 1986 and was immediately told to stay away from police in the center of the city. John said that his daughter was sprayed with tear gas twice this week as police dispersed the George Floyd protests.
Numerous protests have been held this week across the United States after George Floyd, an African-American man, died in police custody on Monday. A white police officer in Minneapolis knelt on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes during the arrest. A video circulating online shows Derek Chauvin pinning unarmed Floyd to the ground with his knee; Floyd repeatedly tells the police officer that he cannot breathe until becoming unresponsive.
A total of four police officers involved in the arrest have been fired. Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The US Department of Justice has made the FBI investigation into Floyd's death a top priority.
US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that if the unrest continues in US cities, then the Federal government would step in and the military would be used. Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Trump said the death of George Floyd was a grave tragedy but warned against surrendering to hostility.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced on Saturday that the state's National Guard would be fully mobilized amid the George Floyd protests.
