Minneapolis, May 27 (RHC)-- In Minneapolis, police fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets at thousands of demonstrators who gathered Tuesday to protest the killing of George Floyd, an African American man who was killed by a white police officer on Monday. 

A video circulated widely on social media shows Floyd gasping for air and telling the officers “I cannot breathe,” while white police officer Derek Chauvin pins him to the pavement with a knee to his neck.

Officer Chauvin continued to pin Floyd to the pavement with his knee for several minutes, even after Floyd became silent and still.  Floyd was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. 

The four officers involved in George Floyd’s killing were fired Tuesday, and the FBI has launched a federal civil rights investigation.  Minnesota authorities are also investigating.