Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) is calling for the arrest of the officer seen in a video pinning George Floyd to the ground.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, died shortly after he was arrested on Monday.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Frey asked, “Why is the man who killed George Floyd, not in jail?”
He continued, “If you had done it or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now.”
“George Floyd deserves Justice. His family deserves Justice. The black community deserves Justice. And our city deserves Justice,” he added.
Watch the video below:
NEW: Minneapolis Mayor Frey calls on Hennepin County attorney to charge the arresting officer in death of George Floyd.
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 27, 2020
"Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?"
(Corrects: Hennepin County attorney) pic.twitter.com/EjGQmGtwmL
Frey called on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to charge the arresting officer.
Protests broke out in Minneapolis on Tuesday after a video of a police officer, pinning Floyd to the ground by placing his kneed on Floyd’s neck, went viral, as IJR reported.
Floyd can be heard saying in the video, “Please, please, please, I can’t breathe.”
Protesters took to the streets to demand that the officers in the case be held accountable. While four of the officers were fired as a result of the arrest, many have called for the officers to be charged.
On Tuesday, Frey blasted the officer who pinned Floyd to the ground for five minutes and said he had “failed in the most basic, human sense.”
Despite the video that raised questions about the officers’ handling of the arrest, Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis said, “Now is not the time rush to judgement and immediately condemn our officers.”
He added, “An in-depth investigation is underway. Our officers are fully cooperating. We must review all video. We must wait for the medical examiner’s report.”
The FBI has reportedly launched an investigation of the incident.