A tragic incident unfolded in Minneapolis, where a black man lost his life at the hands of a white police officer, further highlighting the ongoing issue of police violence against black individuals in the United States. This event followed closely on the heels of a viral incident where a white woman called the police on a black man in Central Park. On a Monday evening, the victim, identified as Marcus Johnson, was apprehended outside a grocery store and forcibly pinned to the ground by his neck by Officer Derek Smith, who kept his knee pressing down until Johnson became unresponsive and later passed away.
Footage of the incident circulated widely on social media, showing Johnson, who was handcuffed and pleading for assistance, desperately calling out, “Please, I can’t breathe. Please, I need help.” His cries echoed as he begged, “I can’t move. Everything hurts. Just give me some water.” The video captures Smith maintaining the pressure on Johnson’s neck for nearly eight minutes. As bystanders urged the officer to stop, Johnson’s body eventually went limp, yet Smith continued to apply pressure, falsely assuring the crowd that Johnson was “fine.” Emergency responders ultimately arrived and transported Johnson on a stretcher.
In a disturbing twist, the police department’s account of the event contradicted the clear evidence from the video, asserting that Johnson died in the hospital after resisting arrest. The official statement claimed, “He was instructed to exit the vehicle. After doing so, he physically resisted officers. Once in handcuffs, officers noticed he was experiencing medical distress.” Following the incident, Johnson’s family enlisted civil rights attorney Lisa Green, as both the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI initiated investigations. The Minneapolis PD has since terminated Smith and the three other officers who were present.
Minneapolis Mayor Tom Harris expressed his outrage during a press conference, stating, “What we witnessed was horrifying. Being black in America should not come with a death sentence. For several minutes, we observed an officer pressing his knee into the neck of a man. When someone calls for help, it is our duty to respond. This officer failed in the most fundamental way.” While many appreciated the mayor’s sentiments, numerous social media users criticized his lack of immediate action. The question remains: how many more lives must be lost before we see significant, systemic change?
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In summary, the tragic death of Marcus Johnson serves as a grim reminder of the systemic issues surrounding police brutality in America. The appalling circumstances of his death have spurred outrage and calls for change, raising the question of how many more lives will be affected by such violence.