Protests have erupted across the United States and around the world since May 25, when a white Minneapolis police officer named Derek Chauvin killed a Black man named George Floyd by pressing a knee onto Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds even as Floyd cried out, "I can't breathe." Police had arrested Floyd for allegedly trying to purchase cigarettes in a convenience store with a counterfeit $20 bill. The protests over his death also speak to years of systemic racism, well-documented prior instances of police brutality going back decades, and repeated calls for action falling on deaf ears of elected officials.
Floyd's violent death didn't happen in a vacuum. Racist-fueled violence and police brutality in the U.S. in the last decade have claimed the lives of many, including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride, Stephon Clark, Jordan Edwards, Jordan Davis, Alton Sterling, Aiyana Jones, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, the Charleston 9, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Corey Jones, and John Crawford.
A full 99% of deaths from police action that occurred between 2013–19 "have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime," according to the Mapping Police Violence project.
Former officer Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Meanwhile, Star Tribune reporter Ryan Faircloth on June 1 tweeted the official results of Floyd's autopsy, confirming the cause of death to be "asphyxiation from sustained pressure."
World leaders who have commented on the situation include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat; and Labour leader and head of the U.K. opposition party, Keir Starmer.
In London, people protested in Trafalgar Square and in front of the U.S. Embassy with "Black Lives Matter" signs. A Floyd mural appeared on May 30 in Berlin with the words, "I can't breathe," painted beside it. And in Krakow, Poland, a small memorial was created at the foot of the United States of America Consulate. These are just three examples of global unanimity on the issue of police brutality in America. Read on for 25 other examples of the world reacting to the murder of George Floyd.
Related: Photos: How protests have engulfed America since George Floyd's death
