Canadians are watching the violence following the death of African American man George Floyd in police custody with "horror and consternation," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday
TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2020) Canadians are watching the violence following the death of African American man George Floyd in police custody with "horror and consternation," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.
"We all watch in horror and consternation what's going on in the United States," Trudeau said during a daily press briefing on the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Trudeau paused for more than 20 seconds after being asked to comment on US President Donald Trump's call for decisive and forceful action to end week-long riots in the aftermath of Floyd's death.
The prime minister added that Canada has its own history of racial injustice and inequality and there remains much work to do address the domestic issues.
On May 25, Floyd died shortly after being arrested by four police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A video of the arrest shows a white police officer pinning Floyd's neck with his knee for nearly eight minutes while he lied handcuffed on his stomach. The initial peaceful protests regarding Floyd's death turned into riots in numerous cities across the United States accompanied with violence and property destruction.
Nicole Roussell, a Sputnik journalist in Washington, said she was fired at by police several times while covering the protests despite identifying that she was a member of the media.
