Let's Talk About George Floyd

Almost six years ago, Eric Garner took his last breath after being put in a chokehold by a New York City police officer. His last words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry in the Black Lives Matter protest movement. This week the same words were used by George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer placed his knee on Floyd's neck. "I cannot breathe! I cannot breathe!" the man yells as bystanders gather. "Do not kill me!" A video taken by witnesses shows a Minneapolis police officer pins his knee against the neck of a black man identified as 46-year-old George Floyd, who appears to be struggling to breathe on the ground, pleading that he is in pain and can't breathe for several minutes. Then, his eyes shut. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Floyd was arrested on Monday after officers responded to a call about an alleged forgery in progress. "Being black in America should not be a death sentence," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during a news conference. "For five minutes, we watched as a white officer pressed his knee to the neck of a black man for five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic human sense."