'Momma, I'm Through': Protests, Unrest Rage After George Floyd's Killing at Hands of Police

The nine-minute video went viral and was met with widespread horror.

Taken by an onlooker on a street in Minneapolis, the footage shows white police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, placing his knee firmly on the neck of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who lay prone on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Floyd can be heard in the video groaning in pain while bystanders plead with Chauvin to let up. Floyd repeatedly asks for help, tells the officers that he cannot breathe, and says that "everything hurts." He calls for his mother and says, “Momma, I’m through.”

The video continues until Floyd is visibly still. He was later pronounced dead, and four days later, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder.

Floyd’s death touched off several days of protests across the country over police brutality and systemic racism, some of which have turned destructive and violent. On Saturday night, a Federal Protective Service officer was fatally shot in California, and across the country, as the protests continued into Sunday morning, videos of apparent police brutality circulated on social media.

The protests come amidst the COVID-19 crisis, which has killed more than 100,000 Americans and left about 40 million out of work, disproportionally impacting communities of color.

George Floyd was a native of Houston, who moved to Minneapolis several years ago where he was involved with church ministry and coaching youth sports while working as a security guard. Here, his niece Gabrielle Thompson cries as she hugs another woman during a protest in Houston.

Protesters in Los Angeles and other cities called for criminal prosecution of excessive police force.

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder in Floyd's death, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Many have called for a more severe charge against Chauvin and for charges against the three other officers present at the scene of Floyd’s death.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who brought the charges against Chauvin, said he anticipates charges against the three other officers.

A woman is injured near the White House during a protest in Washington, D.C.

Across the nation, police departments reported dozens of injuries to officers, and instances of apparent police brutality toward protesters were documented on video that circulated on social media.

A fire was set in this vandalized police car in Los Angeles, which was one of many cities to impose a curfew. Mayor Eric Garcetti asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to deploy National Guard members “to support our local response to maintain peace and safety on the streets of our city.”

In New York, 345 people were arrested on Saturday night into Sunday morning, according to ABC News. Thirty-three police officers were injured, and several of the injuries were serious.

Meanwhile, video surfaced of an NYPD cruiser driving into a crowd of people.

CNN reports mayor Bill de Blasio said members of the crowd were converging on the vehicle and threatening the officers, but he said, “I wish the officers hadn’t done that.”

Protesters, like ones in Columbus, Ohio, have decried systemic racism, borne out by the disproportionate infection and death rates from COVID-19 among people of color.

An analysis of data by NPR published on Saturday found that nationally, deaths form COVID-19 among black people are two times more than would be expected based on the black percentage of the population.

In 42 states and Washington, D.C., Latinos make up a greater share of COVID-19 cases than would be expected based on the Latino percentage of the population.  

On Thursday night, a driver was seen on video intentionally aiming a vehicle into a protester. Police have said they are still searching for the driver.

On Saturday night, three officers and a person they were taking into custody were injured when another driver smashed into their patrol vehicle, and police are searching for that driver as well.

Protests that started peaceful in Seattle on Saturday became destructive as cars were set on fire, stores were looted and police shot tear gas at protesters, the Seattle Times reports.

A demonstrator holds a sign and faces police in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, and where protests that have spread across the country began. 

Protests have continued in Philadelphia, where the city's mayor has imposed a curfew.