As calls for justice for George Floyd continue to fuel the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and other regions in the world, a Kenyan who lives close to the policeman being charged with the murder has spoken out.
Going by the name Arthur K, the Kenyan living in Minneapolis appeared on an interview on NTV on Thursday, June 25, where he stated that the incident shook the whole neighbourhood.
Authur explained that the day the incident happened, protestors marched into their neighbourhood and gathered outside the officer's home, shouting and screaming.
"What happened to George Floyd hit me really hard. I'm staying very close to where the Police who did the act stays and I could hear noises outside his door during the protest," he stated.
He added that it was a tense moment and he deliberated between heading outside or staying inside, to which he choose the latter.
"The officer's action was cruel and during the memorial service, there was a moment of silence for at least eight minutes (symbolic of the time the officer pressed on Floyd's neck) which just showed the gravity of the issue - a whole eight minutes without being able to breathe properly," he stated.
Arthur further explained that he got stuck in the US hours after he had flown into the country after the travel ban due to Covid-19 restrictions was issued.
"It has been a whole experience in the U.S. The day I got to Minneapolis is when they locked down and now I am stuck here," he stated.
The officer who was identified as Derek Chauvin was charged by prosecutors with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his alleged role in the May 25 death of the Minneapolis resident.
The officer in a clip that was shared widely was seen pressing his knee into Floyd's neck as the captured man begged " I can't breathe,"
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo in a statement in June affirmed that the death of George Floyd was "murder" as the officers had been trained on handling suspects and preventing suffocation.
"George Floyd's tragic death was not due to a lack of training, the training was there. Chauvin knew what he was doing.
"The officers knew what was happening - one intentionally caused it and the others failed to prevent it. This was murder, it wasn't a lack of training," Arradondo confirmed.
The other three officers, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
