HOUSTON – Protesters took to the streets in major cities across the country Tuesday, including Houston, after a black man died in Minneapolis police custody Monday night.
George Floyd, 45, died Monday night after a struggle with police that ended with a white officer kneeling on his neck for several minutes. A bystander’s video showed him pleading and groaning that he could not breathe as the officer knelt on his neck. The unidentified officer is seen in the video ignoring his pleas. Police claimed Floyd matched the description of a suspect in a forgery case at a grocery store and that he resisted arrest.
Floyd’s death drew comparisons to the case of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in 2014 in New York after he was placed in a chokehold by police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe.
Protesters took to the streets demanding change Tuesday, similar to the way they did in 2014 and other times in recent history.
Aerial footage from Minneapolis Tuesday evening showed hundreds took to the streets to protest Floyd’s death.
Video from the scene showed chaos as protesters threw rocks at police. Police tried to disperse the crowds with tear gas.
Floyd, who was a Houston-native, was remembered by friends and family members at a protest at Emancipation Park Monday evening.