'I can't breathe'

George Floyd died last week after he was pinned to the pavement by a white police officer in Minneapolis who put his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck until he stopped breathing. His death set off protests that spread across America around the world. Nations around the world joined a 'Black Lives Matter' protests, chanting 'I can’t breathe'.

New York: Hours after the death of George Floyd, police officer Derek Chauvin and three other officers were fired. The act not only triggered the flood of anger but also raised questions on the safety and security of the people of Minneapolis but more importantly, it triggered the fundamental question on the racial attacks on black Americans.

Nations around the world joined a 'Black Lives Matter' protests, chanting 'I can’t breathe'.

"I can't breathe" is an African-American slogan associated with the deaths of two black men, Eric Garner in 2014 and George Floyd in 2020, at the hands of police officers. These incidents erupted protests against the broader issues of police brutality in the US.

Amid the violent unrest nationwide over the death of Floyd, Vanessa Bryant, taking the Instagram, shared a pic of her late husband Kobe wearing a T-shirt written "I Can't Breathe" on it.

Courtesy: Vanessa Bryant Instagram

In May 2020, Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by kneeling on the back of his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. A video of the incident showed Floyd saying "I can't breathe" multiple times.

Despite his pleas, the officer was preventing Floyd from breathing. Chauvin continued the restraint for two minutes and 53 seconds after Floyd became unresponsive.

"I can't breathe" became a rallying cry for the subsequent nationwide protests.

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