People hold up their fists after protesting near the spot where George Floyd died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Kerem Yucel, AFP)
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If you are white and you don’t know the name George Floyd or Eric Garner, you are part of the problem, writes Herman Eloff.
George Floyd, 46, died in the street on Monday in front of a horrified crowd of people in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Video footage captured by several bystanders and CCTV cameras from all angles show an unarmed Floyd violently being handcuffed and pinned down to the ground by three white police officers while another police officer stands nearby after a grocery store employee told police he "allegedly tried to pay with a counterfeit $20 bill".
READ: George Floyd, man killed in Minneapolis police encounter, had started new life in Minnesota
As Floyd lies on his stomach, his head to the side, one officer's knee is embedded deeply into his throat.
He pleads: "I can't breathe."
Then more desperate, "Please, I can’t breathe."
Horrified bystanders scream at the brutality used as a helpless Floyd is clearly in distress while police officers pile up on him.
A few minutes later, Floyd’s lifeless body is rolled onto a stretcher.
READ | George Floyd death: Pressure mounts for US officers to be charged
Floyd, known by his college football friends as "a gentle giant", was pronounced dead at the hospital.
An official statement by the Minneapolis Police states that Floyd was "transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance" after he "appeared to be suffering medical distress".
He died a "short time later".
All the officers involved in the incident have been fired as prosecutors have called in the help of the FBI to investigate the case.
READ: Angry US protests for second night over police killing of George Floyd
In 2014, Eric Garner, a black man from New York City screamed "I can’t breathe" 11 times, before dying, as a white police officer put him in a choke-hold during an arrest on "suspicion of selling single cigarettes from packs without tax stamps".
If you are white and you don't know the names "George Floyd" and "Eric Garner", then you are part of the problem.
READ: Eric Garner's mother says George Floyd's death feels like déjà vu
If you are white and you’ve skipped the headlines and video footage related to the death of "George Floyd" because it "made you feel a little uncomfortable", then you are part of the problem.
If you are white and you don't know why "race has to be brought into this", then you are part of the problem.
If you are white and you don't see the injustice of an unarmed black man being pinned down by three white police officers while begging for his life and then dying, then you are part of the problem.
If you are white and you are not outraged that a man died in police custody after being accused of “paying with a counterfeit $20”, or for reportedly selling “cigarettes from packs without tax stamps”, then you are part of the problem.
If you are white and you prefer "not to get involved", then you are part of the problem.
If you are white and you are not an ally who stands up and speaks out when it's needed most, you are part of the problem.
If you are white and upset that I said you are part of the problem, then you are part of the problem.
If you are silent, you are the problem.
(Sources: AJC, Aljazeera, AFP, The New York Times, Minneapolis Police, CNN)
- Herman Eloff is News24's Lifestyle and Entertainment Editor