‘A Human Reaction to a Deeply Dysfunctional Relationship’: The Connection Between Police Violence, Looting and Riots In Minneapolis

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Protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, burned a police precinct in response to the death of George Floyd — killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with a knee to the man’s neck, with three other officers.

The recorded choking death of Floyd, who called for his deceased mother and complained he could not breathe moments before he died, has enraged the country, and the local community of Minneapolis specifically. While the four officers involved in the incident were terminated, and Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The aftermath of the caught-on-video death of a Black man in police custody was marked by protests and looting, reflecting the frustration, anger, trauma and grief of a community facing systemic racism and demanding justice.

Like other urban rebellions, recent events in Minneapolis raise the issue of whether the focus should be placed on acts of police violence, or the public responses to those incidents. Twitter hid a tweet from President Trump, who glorified and fomented violence when he called protesters thugs, threatened to send in the National Guard and said “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The tweet referred to a quote from former Miami police chief Walter Headley, who promised violence against Black protesters who opposed stop-and-frisk practices in December 1967.