Eric Garner’s mom says George Floyd’s death is like opening an old wound as she visits Minneapolis

Shocking aerial photos show the widespread destruction left in Minneapolis in the wake of protests over George Floyd’s killing.

Chaos first erupted Tuesday after footage showed white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on father-of-two Floyd’s neck for eight minutes. By Wednesday stores, including Wendy’s, Target, Walmart and AutoZone had been looted, ransacked and some set alight before rioters tried to bust open an ATM. 

As Minneapolis braced for a third night of violence Thursday Eric Garner’s mother arrived in the city. She said the death of Floyd is like opening up ‘an old wound’ after the footage drew comparisons to her son’s arrest in New York in 2014.

Gwen Carr, whose 44-year-old son died after he was placed in an apparent chokehold by a NYPD officer, was joined by Rev Al Sharpton in Minneapolis days after video showed Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck. 

Civil rights activist Rev Sharpton demanded the cops who ‘murdered’ him are arrested, telling the crowd: ‘You do not need anything more than you have now to arrest those four policemen.’ Carr added: ‘The police officers come into our neighborhoods, they brutalize, they terrorize, they murder our children and we have done nothing.’ 

Carr told protesters: ‘This will not be an easy fight, its gonna be a lonely road. We will not forget this man, we will not forget my son.’

Discussing the protests, Rev Sharpton  added: ‘If they had prosecuted the Garner officer maybe Floyd would be alive today. We are going to make sure this prosecution goes down so we are not somewhere five years from now saying they should prosecuted in the Floyd case.

‘You do not need anything more than you have now to arrest those four policemen. We want justice.’

In July last year federal prosecutors said they would not bring criminal charges against the white New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the 2014 chokehold death of Garner. 

In the case of Floyd, the four officers at his arrest have been fired but there have so far been no arrests. 

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State troopers have already been called in and Mayor Jacob Frey asked for the National Guard’s help after one suspected looter was fatally shot and stores were left ransacked and torched.   

Mayor Frey on Thursday asked Governor Tim Walz for the Minnesota National Guard’s assistance ahead of more expected protests this evening. FOX 9 reports up to 60 state troopers are already on the ground. 

The mayor tweeted: ‘Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy. The area along Lake has become unsafe. We are asking for your help in keeping the peace tonight.’ 

The fire department said Thursday they were called out to around 30 fires along Lake Street the previous evening, with rocks thrown damaging their equipment. At least 16 fires involved damage to buildings, they said. 

No one was injured as a result but crews remain working on the scene.  

It comes as:

• A video was widely shared on social media on Tuesday showing white officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he pleads to be released before eventually losing consciousness and later dying
• Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis later that night demanding justice for the 46-year-old, leading to confrontations with police officers firing rubber bullets 
• Four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s arrest were fired on Tuesday after initially being placed on paid administrative leave  
• Four fired police officers are named as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng  
• Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on prosecutors Wednesday to arrest and charge Chauvin   
• New video footage casts fresh doubt on claims Floyd resisted as two officers are seen manhandling and forcibly removing him from his car and he appears to be complying with officers  
• Floyd’s family demanded police officer Chauvin be charged with murder, and the other three officers involved charged as murder accomplices
• A protest started in the streets of downtown LA Wednesday night over Floyd’s death with one man being taken to hospital after he fell from a moving police cruiser 
• Minneapolis protesters escalated into violence Wednesday as cops and protesters clashed and stores including Target, AutoZone and Walmart were ransacked and set on fire by looters 
• A looter was shot dead in Minneapolis Wednesday night and officers had arrested a man for homicide

A suspected looter was shot dead outside a pawn shop; Minneapolis Department Police Chief John Elder confirmed the death in a midnight press conference. 

Elder said officers had responded to reports of a possible stabbing at around 9.25pm between Bloomington and Lake Street. The body of a man – who medics later confirmed had been shot – was found lying on the sidewalk outside the Cadillac Pawn shop by police officers who performed CPR on him.  

Videos also showed what was reported to be an apartment building entirely engulfed by flames as rioters stood and watched and the fire department was nowhere to be seen. An AutoZone store was also one of those which was set on fire. 

Outside a GM Tobacco store, a group of four men with huge firearms were seen and said they had come to protect local businesses from looters. 

Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins called ‘racism is a public health issue’ during a press conference Thursday. Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he ‘cannot allow criminal acts to occur and compound the trauma that already exists’. 

During the riots, a woman in a wheelchair was punched in the head and sprayed with a fire extinguisher after trying to block protesters – allegedly with a knife in her hand. 

Floyd’s family’s lawyer Ben Crump had issued a statement Thursday morning urging protesters to act peacefully and to not ‘sink to the level of our oppressors’.

He said: ‘I spoke with George Floyd’s family this morning and they would like to thank all of the protesters for joining them in standing for JUSTICE. They know we’re all hurting. They know that any decent human being who watches the video of the police killing their Gentle Giant by having his knee on his neck while he was handcuffed facedown will also feel a shortness of breath like George. 

‘They told me they want peace in Minneapolis, but they know that Black people want peace in their souls and that until we get #JusticeForFloyd there will be no peace. We also cannot sink to the level of our oppressors and we cannot endanger each other as we respond to the necessary urge to raise our voices in unison and in outrage. 

‘Looting and violence distract from the strength of our collective voice. To assuage this death and begin the community’s healing, city and police leaders need to look at the culture they’ve created and ask the hard questions.’

Elder said that ‘everything was done that we could do to try to preserve this man’s life’ but the adult male died in hospital. 

The police chief refused to confirm reports that the shooter was the owner of the pawn shop who shot the victim dead because he was looting his store.  

He said this was ‘one theory’ but that police are investigating ‘a couple of different scenarios that might have happened’.

Elder would not divulge what the other scenarios are. He added that there had been no other reports of injuries among protesters or police officers.

The police chief also slammed the actions of looters and rioters which he branded ‘disrespectful’ to Floyd’s family and to all the protesters who gathered peacefully to demand justice over his death. 

‘If people are there to truly honor the man and his family this isn’t how you do it and it’s so disrespectful and it’s heartbreaking,’ he said. 

‘People are utilizing this as a purpose just to make bad decisions.’  

News of the shooting death topped off a night of chaos and destruction across the city as rioters stripped shelves bare, set fire to stores and tried to break into a bank.  

Footage on social media showed car parts company AutoZone up in flames as people were seen hurling rocks through its windows. 

Another structure, said to be a new apartment building, was filmed as flames entirely engulfed it and made it collapse. 

With the fire department initially nowhere to be seen, reports on social media said they were being forced to stay away because of the violent rioters.  

Stores and building near the fire were being splashed with water by citizens in an effort to stop the flames spreading. They were pictured filling buckets from fire hydrants. 

Fire fighters were then seen spraying buildings including the Schooner tavern which had also caught fire. 

At the Target store near the site of Floyd’s arrest, the inside of the store lay in ruins, with stock depleted of all goods and the remaining merchandise flung across the floor.

Witnesses reported thieves using power tools to break open cash registers and trying to access the store’s safes, before it too was set alight and seen engulfed in flames.  

Rioters then turned to a Wendy’s where they sprayed graffiti on the walls before moving onto a bank – trying to bust it open and raid the ATMs.   

A woman in a wheelchair was also punched in the head and sprayed with a fire extinguisher after trying to block protesters – allegedly with a knife in her hand.

The woman claimed she was ‘peacefully protesting’ to stop people from looting a Target store, but she was quickly set upon by a crowd who subdued her. 

The crowd outside the Target store shouted that the woman had a knife, and footage showed her holding what appeared to be a sharp object. 

Named online as Jennifer, she later said she had been ‘punched in the head several times’ before others tried to restrain her.   

Footage of the violent clash has been widely shared on social media, including by conservative writer Andy Ngo. 

A group of four men with huge firearms were seen outside a GM Tobacco store as they said they had come to protect local businesses from looters, reported Minnesota Reformer. 

The vigilantes called themselves ‘heavily armed rednecks’ as they stood guard outside the businesses. 

Disorder erupted in the streets of the city on the second day of the rally over Floyd’s death, after footage emerged Tuesday showing white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the black man’s neck moments before he died in police custody.  

Floyd is heard pleading with Chauvin, saying ‘please, please, I can’t breathe’ and ‘My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts’ while witnesses urged the arresting officers to stop.  

Cops were seen spraying pepper spray into the crowds and outraged Minnesotans threw metal railings at the windows of the police precinct as the two groups clashed on Wednesday. 

This followed chaotic scenes at Tuesday night’s protest where demonstrators were seen dousing their faces in milk to limit the effects of the tear gas and desperately fleeing the hail of rubber bullets raining down on them.   

Minnesota Governor Walz issued a plea Wednesday for people to practice social distancing and protest peacefully while calling on cops to exercise restraint at the rally.  

A new incident report was also released Wednesday revealing medics arrived at the scene of Floyd’s arrest to find the black man already ‘unresponsive’ and ‘pulseless’. 

Wednesday’s protest started peacefully but clashes soon emerged between the demonstrators and police officers before the city erupted with violence. 

One woman was seen being blasted in the face with pepper spray as she held up a banner with a slogan saying ‘Charge killer cops’.  

People launched missiles including rocks and bottles at the building where the four officers connected to Floyd’s death worked.  

Some protesters also threw debris at a car with pro-Trump and pro-police messaging on it as it drove through the area. 

Police officers and protesters started gathering throughout Wednesday outside the Minneapolis police third precinct close to the scene of Floyd’s arrest.

Flowers and photos were laid outside the Cups Food deli where the incident unfolded Monday to pay homage to the man who family members said was ‘everyone’s favorite person’.  

Many protesters were pictured wearing face masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19 as Governor Walz urged people to practice social distancing.   

Police officers wore riot gear and held bats as they tried to create a human barrier between demonstrators and the precinct.

Some cops were seen stationed on the roof of the building looking down on the crowds gathering below.   

Authorities claimed Tuesday that Floyd had resisted arrest by cops, however footage from the scene has cast doubt on the version of events as it appears to show the 46-year-old father of two cooperating with officers as he is manhandled out of his vehicle and placed in handcuffs outside the Cup Foods grocery store on 38th and Chicago Ave in south Minneapolis.   

The release of the MFD report sheds yet more light on Monday’s shocking events, detailing that fire crew were called to assist medics with a man – called ‘pt’ in the report – who had trauma to his mouth. 

It states that Fire Station 17 of Minneapolis arrived at the scene outside the Cup Foods store to find ‘multiple squads on scene and small crowd of citizens’.  

The report points to confusion at the scene as neither the cops nor bystanders gave information to medics on Floyd or his location.  

It says that while the crew tried to find Floyd to give medical support, they overheard and were told by ‘several people that the police “had killed the man”‘.

The report adds that the bystanders were ‘upset but not unruly’. 

Crew members were finally able to find a cop inside the store who told them medics had put Floyd in an ambulance and left the scene. 

Crew members were also told by an off-duty firefighter who witnessed the end of the struggle that they had seen Floyd become unresponsive on the ground while handcuffed and subdued by cops, the report says. 

Medics then called for assistance and the crew responded to the ambulance which had moved to 36th and Park Avenue. 

Two crew members got into the ambulance where they found ‘an unresponsive, pulseless male’, the report states.  

According to the report, medics never managed to recover a pulse on route to the hospital and Floyd’s ‘condition did not change’. 

Governor Walz broke protocol in his daily coronavirus briefing Wednesday to talk about the ‘tragic events’ in Minneapolis Monday and to send his ‘deepest sympathies’ to Floyd’s family. 

‘Like so many Minnesotans and so many people across the country and world I was shocked and horrified by the video of George Floyd’s death,’ the governor said.

‘It’s very clear to anyone that what happened to George Floyd is wrong,’ Walz said. 

‘The lack of humanity in the video as I said made me physically ill and is even more difficult to understand.’ 

An autopsy has not yet been completed, officials said. 

Walz thanked protesters for their peaceful rally Tuesday night – before making a thinly-veiled dig at law enforcement that some protesters ended up ‘in harm’s way’ at the rally. 

‘When I was with you Saturday I closed by wishing everyone a peaceful Memorial Day,’ Walz said. 

‘Unfortunately Memorial Day evening in Minneapolis was anything but peaceful – and neither was last night.’ 

Walz said he ‘respect[s] the right to peacefully protest’. 

‘It’s how people express their pain, process tragedy and work to create change,’ he said.  

‘But I was saddened to see some of the protesters were in harm’s way last night.’  

Walz also urged protesters to wear face masks and practice social distancing at Wednesday’s rally.

‘I just want to encourage everyone to be safe in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and I want to thank protesters for their commitment to safely protest in the pandemic,’ he said.  

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said the state will ‘get answers’ but also urged protesters to stay safe at the protests.

‘George Floyd should be alive today,’ she said. ‘The grief in this moment is unbearable.’  

Flanagan warned that the same communities most affected by Floyd’s death are those also worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic – as black communities have been disproportionately hard-hit by the outbreak.  

‘Last night we saw those choose to protest their grief and anger wearing masks and distancing themselves,’ she said, adding that she wanted to ‘thank’ those protesters.   

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, also speaking at the press conference, said an investigation into Floyd’s death is now underway.   

Ellison said the incident reminds him of historic cases of police conflict with the African-American community, such as the death of Rodney King back in 1991.

‘This is not an isolated case,’ he said. ‘We’re dealing with a systemic problem.’ 

‘This tragic event that took the life of George Floyd is a point in time and an incident involving a person,’ Ellison said. 

‘The reason there is so much outrage is that this is a part of a larger pattern.’ 

John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, echoed sentiments from the victim’s family’s lawyer Ben Crump that there are worrying similarities in the case with the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner.

Garner died in 2014 after he was placed in a chokehold by New York City police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe.     

‘It reminds me so much of the Eric Garner case in New York but I promise you that unlike the Eric Garner case we will not wait years for action,’ he said.  

‘You will not have to wait – there will not be a lag.’

City officials on Wednesday formally identified the four fired police officers involved in Monday’s incident as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng.

The cops, who were initially placed on paid administrative leave, were terminated from the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday after footage of Floyd’s arrest was widely shared on social media.  

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on prosecutors Wednesday to arrest and charge Chauvin for his role in the incident. 

‘If most people, particularly people of color, had done what a police officer did late Monday, they’d already be behind bars,’ Frey said in a tweet on Wednesday. 

‘That’s why today I’m calling on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to charge the arresting officer in this case.’ 

George Floyd was arrested because he ‘tried to pay store with a counterfeit $20 bill’ as Minneapolis Mayor says he would still be alive if he were white

The Mayor of Minneapolis says he believes George Floyd would still be alive today if he had been white, as it’s revealed the 46-year-old black man was arrested, pinned to the ground, and ‘murdered’ by cops for allegedly trying to pay at a local deli with a counterfeit $20 bill. 

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Mahmoud Abumayyaleh, the co-owner of Cup Foods deli, broke his silence revealing one of his employees had called the police after Floyd allegedly handed them a bogus bill.

The store owner said a family member then witnessed Floyd being restrained and tried to intervene, reportedly asking the officer to take his knee off the man.  

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said earlier this morning that he considers Floyd’s death to be a murder. 

‘I’m not a prosecutor, but let me be clear. The arresting officer killed someone,’ he told CBS. 

‘He’d be alive today if he were white.’ The facts that I’ve seen, which are minimal, certainly lead me down the path that race was involved.’  

Abumayyaleh, who said he did not see Floyd resisting arrest, revealed the incident was also captured on the grocery store’s surveillance camera but cannot be shared publicly because it is under investigation.  

He said Floyd had already exited the store after one of his workers had noticed the cash he used was fake.

‘My staff called the police, practicing protocol, and when the police arrived Floyd was still outside and that’s when they approached him,’ he said.   

‘I viewed [the footage] and what I see was devastating. It was very heartbreaking, and our condolences go out to the family and friends of George Floyd.  

‘Our camera angle shows exactly what was reported by the outside bystander. What I see is exactly what you see, ‘ he added. 

Cup Foods, which has been a part of the community for over 30 years, has been in the background of riots and protests over Floyd’s killing and has also received backlash from angry residents, Abumayyaleh said. 

‘Although we have a village of supporters behind us, there’s a small percentage of people who are angry and want answers, and we understand that.

‘But let’s take that anger towards the people who took the action against the individual that killed. Let’s take that anger and use it towards bridging and fixing the problem in our system that is causing minorities in this country to be killed,’ he said. 

EXCLUSIVE: A new start turns to a tragic end for George Floyd, who moved to Minneapolis determined to turn his life around after being released from prison in Texas 

George Floyd moved to Minnesota to start a new life shortly after being released from prison in Texas, but his pursuit of a better life ended tragically when he died during a violent arrest, according to court records obtained by DailyMail.com.  

The 46-year-old moved to the city in 2014 and worked as a bouncer at a local restaurant, leaving behind his past in the Houston area. 

Floyd had made changes to his lifestyle and a recent video has emerged of him pleading with younger generations to make good choices and to stop gun violence. 

He had been there himself years ago, first being arrested in his 20s for theft and then a later arrest for armed robbery before he turned his life around.    

The final straw for Floyd came after serving five years in prison in 2009 for aggravated assault stemming from a robbery in 2007 where he entered a woman’s home, pressed a gun into her stomach and searched the home for drugs and money, according to court records.   

Floyd pleaded guilty to the robbery where another suspect posed as a worker for the local water department, wearing a blue uniform in an attempt to gain access to the woman’s home, according to the charging document.

But when the woman opened the door, she realized he was not with the water department and attempted to close the door, leading to a struggle.

At that time, a Ford Explorer pulled up to the home and five other males exited the car and went up to the front door.

The report states the largest of the group, who the victim later identified as Floyd, ‘forced his way inside the residence, placed a pistol against the complainant’s abdomen, and forced her into the living room area of the residence.

‘This large suspect then proceeded to search the residence while another armed suspect guarded the complainant, who was struck in the head and sides by this second armed suspect with his pistol while she screamed for help.’

Not finding any drugs or money at the house, the men took jewelry and the woman’s cell phone and fled in their car. A neighbor who witnessed the robbery took down the car’s license plate number.

Later, police tracked down the car and found Floyd behind the wheel. He was later identified by the woman as the large suspect who placed a gun against her stomach and forced her into her living room, the document states. 

Floyd pleaded guilty to the first degree felony and was sentenced in April 2009 to five years in prison. 

Prior to that, Floyd was sentenced to 10 months in state jail for possession of cocaine. He had been charged in December 2005 for having less than one gram of the controlled substance.

However, a few months later the charge was updated to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, amending the amount Floyd allegedly had to more than four grams of cocaine. 

But according to court records, Floyd was able to have the charge reverted back to possession of cocaine less than a gram.

Floyd had two other cocaine offenses, receiving an eight month-sentence stemming from an October 2002 arrest and was sentenced to 10 months from a 2004 arrest. 

Floyd was arrested in April 2002 for criminal trespassing and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

He did another stint for theft with a firearm in August 1998. He served 10 months at Harris County jail.

In one of the charging documents, officials noted Floyd had two convictions in the 1990s for theft and delivery of a controlled substance, but it is not clear if Floyd served any time for either of those offenses.

After his last arrest in 2007, Floyd moved to Minneapolis in 2014 shortly after his prison release.

Christopher Harris, one of Floyd’s lifelong friends, said Floyd moved to the city to start over to find a job, telling the Atlanta Journal Constitution: ‘He was looking to start over fresh, a new beginning. He was happy with the change he was making.’

Indeed, it seems that Floyd had turned his life around before his death on Monday.

A heartbreaking video emerged online of Floyd encouraging the younger generation to put an end to gun violence.

The undated video was circulated on Twitter on Wednesday as protesters descended on the streets of Minneapolis for a second night calling for the arrest of the cops involved in his death.

Floyd is seen addressing the camera directly as he speaks out about the need for gun violence to end. 

‘It’s clearly the generation after us that’s so lost, man,’ he says before telling them to ‘come home’.