Minneapolis, May 28 (RHC)-- Pressure is mounting in the U.S. state of Minnesota for prosecutors to bring charges against four Minneapolis police officers over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. "What we saw was a public lynching without a rope," said Leslie Redmond, the president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
"Enough is enough. We are done dying," Redmond told reporters. "We want to see them prosecuted."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey echoed those calls in a news conference on Wednesday, asking: "Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?" He added: "If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now."
George Floyd died at the hospital late on Monday after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on the 46-year-old's neck for several minutes as Floyd moaned and yelled: "I can't breathe." A video of the incident shows Floyd pleading with police and eventually appearing motionless as the officer's knee remained on his neck. Bystanders can be heard urging the officer to get off of Floyd.
Medaria Arradondo, the city's first Black police chief, swiftly fired the four officers involved, a move community leaders acknowledged as "a win" -- but said should only be the first step.
"I don't want to undermine how big of a win it was to Chief Arradondo to fire those four officers the same day the footage was shown to the public," the NAACP's Redmond said, highlighting that while it was only one officer who pinned Floyd to the ground "all of them were responsible and played a role."
"The next step," Redmond said, was charges being brought against the four officers -- identified as Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng -- both locally and federally.
"What we are seeing is a violation of Black people's human rights," Redmond said. "Our humanity has always been denied on American soil."
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensive (BCA) and the FBI are both investigating the incident. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office, which will handle the case, said in a statement it was "shocked and saddened by what appeared in a recent video."
It added that after the BCA and FBI present their findings, it will make a decision on prosecution. "We promise a thorough, expedited review consistent with our ongoing commitment to justice," the statement read. "Every person is entitled to fairness; no person stands above the law."
Redmond said other Black leaders are pushing for resources to be poured into the community and for police officers to be trained by community members to help bridge the disconnect she says has long existed.
Security camera footage, obtained by CBS News, shows Floyd sitting on the ground with his hands behind his back and then walking with police out of frame. "Security cameras captured moments before the murder of #GeorgeFloyd," tweeted prominent civil rights lawyer, Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Floyd family.
"He was clearly NOT RESISTING arrest... So WHY did Minneapolis Police officers use excessive force that ultimately resulted in his death?! WE DEMAND ANSWERS."
