Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis on Thursday as tensions rose on the eve of the hearing of former soldier Derek Chauvin in the case of George Floyd’s death.
The marchers showed a white coffin fluttering with flowers and called on police to stop racial justice and police brutality a day before the jury’s selection began in the volatile case.
“We have to remember that a man lost his life, a family lost a brother, a family lost a father, they lost a son, they lost an uncle,” Mohammed Ibrahim, deputy director of CAIR-MN, told the Star Tribune.
The march was peaceful and featured music by Bob Marley, Prince and Sam Cook. M.N. by those pastor members. Follows with Prayer with Prayer, an international group formed after Flood’s May 25 death, which now has 150 member churches.
“We need time to reflect on how often this happens,” demonstrator Elias Wehley told the Tribune.
Protesters then gathered outside the Hennipin County Government Center, the venue for the next hearing, which is set to begin with a jury selection Monday morning, WCCO said in a report.
Chauvin, 44, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree murder in Floyd’s death. The viral video of the incident shows East police with a knee on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes while he pleads for air.
The incident sparked worldwide protests condemning police brutality.
Minneapolis officials increased security for the trial, brought in National Guard troops and state, county and city police, and fortified Cortica and police ports with barricades, security fences and barbed wire.
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