‘I can’t breathe’: Protest over death of George Floyd held near Plaza in Kansas City
Update: During the protest, some water bottles were thrown and police warned members of the crowd that they would be sprayed with pepper spray if they did not leave the street. That story is posted here.
Kansas City on Friday joined in on the protests that have broken out across the nation after a white police officer in Minneapolis was seen on video kneeling on the neck of a black man, who died while in police custody.
The video, capturing moments leading up to George Floyd’s death on Monday, has prompted a national outrage, leading to protests this week in Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as other major cities including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Denver, Memphis, St. Louis and now Kansas City.
At least 100 people gathered by the J.C. Nichols fountain at the County Club Plaza in Kansas City to protest police brutality and the deaths of George Floyd and Eric Garner, a black man who died while in police custody in 2014 in New York City. They held signs sharing messages such as “Black Lives Matter,” “Stop the Violence” and “I can’t breathe.”
Protesters chanted “No lives matter until black lives matter” and “What’s his name? George Floyd,” while cars driving by honked in support.
Derek Chauvin, 44, the Minneapolis police officer seen on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck, was arrested on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges Friday. He is accused in court papers of ignoring another officer who was worried about the handcuffed black man who died after pleading that he could not breathe, according to the Associated Press.
Zakiyah Allah, a 25-year-old Kansas City resident, participated in the rally Friday to show support. She said she feels the killings of black Americans are unnecessary and unjust.
She said she wasn’t able to watch the entire video that showed the moments before George Floyd’s death, which she called “another senseless killing on camera.”
“It becomes emotionally overbearing,” Allah said of the video and what she has seen on social media. “Sometimes it’s hard to deal with, so I have just been trying to stay positive and do positive things like come out to the protest and not just dwell in the negative and just get our voices heard.”
About two hours into the rally, some protesters turned their attention to police officers in the area, telling them to go away.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 5:24 PM.
