Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – One person was killed and another injured by shooting during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in the state of Kentucky, United States (US), Sunday (6/28/2020).
Reporting from AFP, the incident occurred Jefferson Square Park, Louisville, where the demonstrators gathered for weeks over the murder of African-American female medical personnel Breonna Taylor. The report on the shooting was received by local police on Saturday (6/27/2020) at 21:00 US time.
“The call then came, police personnel who were in the park took action to save lives on a man who finally died at the scene,” said a local police statement via an official Twitter account.
Until now it was unclear whether there were more than one shooter in action. Authorities have not released details related to the victim.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said he was saddened by the incident. Before the shooting, Fischer had urged the protesters to stay away from the park. In fact, the local newspaper, Louisville Courier Journal, reported that armed forces planned to confront the demonstrators.
Protests in the city which called for Black Lives Matter could not be separated from the shooting up to eight times against Breonna Taylor. Initially, Breonna was suspected of having drugs in the apartment. However, illicit goods were never found.
Local media reported that the police carried out a search without knocking, ambushed by entering the house without warning. But the police denied the accusation, even though his family and neighbors said otherwise.
This case helped trigger a new wave of anger in the US over racial injustice and police brutality. Previously, demonstrations in the US occurred on a massive scale due to the death of George Floyd.
Floyd is a 46 year old black man. He was killed by the actions of Minneapolis police officers who arrested him last May. He died when he was about to be arrested. His death actually made the spirit of anti-racism in the US spread.
This tragedy, AFP wrote, began when Floyd was arrested for allegedly conducting transactions using counterfeit money. The money he used was worth US $ 20 (Rp. 292 thousand). The report was delivered on the afternoon of May 25, when Floyd bought a packet of cigarettes from a grocery store, Cup Foods. The store clerk reports to the police because he believes the money is fake.
In the 911 report around 20:00, the employee claimed Floyd’s suspicious movements. In a transcript of the conversation released by the local authorities, he asked Floyd to return the cigarettes he bought but refused.
He even considered Floyd was drunk and uncontrolled. Shortly after, at around 20.08, police came to the scene and approached Floyd, who was sitting on the far end of the store.
In a video that went viral, when the arrest occurred, the policeman named Derek Chauvin pressed Floyd’s neck with his knee. Even though he was being handcuffed and facedown on the side of the road, for about seven minutes.
In the video Floyd was seen moaning many times in pain and admitted difficulty breathing. Floyd even had time to cry and call his mother shortly before dying.
“Your knees are on my neck. I can’t breathe … Mama. Mama,” George said with a groan before he died.
Several people at the scene asked for Chauvin to release his knee from Floyd’s neck. Unfortunately the request was ignored.
When Floyd was no longer moving and whimpering, he was immediately taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Arriving at the Hennepin County Medical Center hospital, he was declared dead.
