Tuesday 2nd June will see Liverpool landmarks across the city turn purple to remember victim of police brutality, George Floyd.
George Floyd, an unarmed African American security guard died in Minneapolis, United States, after being arrested by police. A video showed the security guard saying he was in pain and could not breathe, while being held down by a police officer before he died.
The police officer’s action has been condemned by the mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey, who said that if most people had done what the police officer did to Mr Floyd, they would “already be behind bars”.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson responded by saying:
“Our city has always stood up for justice @jacob_frey so Liverpool will stand with you and Minneapolis during these difficult days.
“We will light our buildings purple on Tuesday to remember George Floyd and show communities, everywhere, that justice must be seen.”
Protests about Mr Floyd’s death have spread across the United States, in some cases turning violent.
Donald Trump also added fuel to the fire threatening “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” in a tweet that was later hidden by Twitter.
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey tweeted:
“George Floyd deserves justice. The Black community deserves justice. His friends and family deserve Justice.”
Mr Floyd was approached by officers responding to reports of the use of counterfeit money as he was getting into his car.
Police claimed that when he was told to step away from the car he physically resisted.
Video footage did not capture the moment of this exchange but shows that as it continued, a white officer placed his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck and pinned him down.
Mr Floyd can be heard begging “don’t kill me” and “I can’t breathe” before he died.
On Friday night, Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer seen in the video, was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter.
