PERSPECTIVES MAURICE LESTER HALL Maurice Lester Hall spent most of May 25 2020 with George Floyd He was a passenger in Floyd’s car when the police arrived Hall and Floyd were both from Houston Texas A pastor in Minneapolis introduced the two They became friends Hall considered Floyd a mentor He said Floyd did not resist arrest that night He was from the beginning trying in his humblest form to show he was not resisting I could hear him pleading Please officer what’s all this for Hall says he will always remember the fear he saw on his friend’s face when the police took him out of the car 6 the officers struggled Floyd was handcuffed The officers noted Floyd may have been having a medical emergency They tried to get Floyd into a squad car A while later Chauvin pulled Floyd out of the car Floyd fell to the ground Officer Chauvin a white man knelt on Floyd’s neck to restrain him for several minutes The officers called an ambulance During this time Floyd became unresponsive Floyd was later pronounced dead
People around the country made murals honoring George Floyd Bystanders recorded the event and shared it on social media The protesters walked to the precinct building where the officers had worked The people were angry that another Black person had died in police custody They demanded the officers be charged with crimes As evening approached a group of people broke away from the main crowd They smashed windows at the precinct building They spray painted the building They damaged a squad car The police responded to the growing violence A line of officers in riot gear approached A metal cannister landed on the ground 7
a weapon after Castile was and the rubber bullets The police were firing tear gas Tear gas causes severe irritation of the eyes Loud bangs filled the air Now the police were shooting rubber bullets into the crowd People coughed and ran They tried to escape the gas Some protesters threw rocks back at the officers Protesters kept gathering at the site of Floyd’s death in the following days PHILANDO CASTILE Floyd’s death was not the first in the Minneapolis area that led to protests Philando Castile was a 32 year old who worked in the Nutrition Services Department for Saint Paul Public Schools Castile was shot and killed by officer Jeronimo Yanez in a routine traffic stop on his way home from the store in 2016 Yanez believed Castile was grabbing asked to show identification Yanez was charged in Castile’s death and found not guilty Prior to the shooting Castile had been stopped by police at least 46 times University of Minnesota School Law professor Myron Orfield said that was not surprising and matched statistics that signal underlying discrimination in 8 traffic stops They asked for justice
Police officers used tear gas to disperse crowds in Minneapolis Riots followed at night People were upset They demanded change WHY PROTEST A protest is when people publicly gather to express their dissatisfaction with something and ask for change People often protest to try to convince lawmakers to change laws Protesters may chant or carry signs 9
