President Akufo-Addo sends his condolences to the family of George Floyd

President Akufo-Addo sends his condolences to the family of George Floyd

President Akufo-Addo sends his condolences to the family of George Floyd: The President of the Republic of Ghana, President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo has sent his condolences to the family of the late George Floyd in the United States of America.

In the President’s post on his Social Media handle, he wrote;

“Black people, the world over, are shocked and distraught by the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer in the United States of America. It carried with it an all too painful familiarity and an ugly reminder. It cannot be right that, in the 21st century, the United States, this great bastion of democracy, continues to grapple with the problem of systemic racism.

On behalf of the people of Ghana, I express my deep condolences to the family and loved ones of the late George Floyd.

We stand with our kith and kin in America in these difficult and trying times, and we hope that the unfortunate, tragic death of George Floyd will inspire a lasting change in how America confronts head on the problems of hate and racism”.

Background of George Floyd’s Death

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African-American man, died in Powderhorn, a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; according to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time occurred after Floyd became unresponsive.

Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas K. Lane participated in Floyd’s arrest, with Kueng holding Floyd’s back, Lane holding his legs, and Thao looking on as he stood nearby.

Preliminary results from the official autopsy found no indication that Floyd died of strangulation or traumatic asphyxia, but that the combined effects of being restrained, underlying health conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, and potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.

Attorneys for Floyd’s family announced that they have requested an independent autopsy.

The arrest was made after Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli. Police said Floyd physically resisted arrest. A security camera from a nearby business did not show Floyd resisting.

However, the criminal complaint filed later stated Floyd “did not voluntarily get in the car and struggled with the officers, intentionally falling down, saying he was not going in the car, and refusing to stand still” based on body cameras worn by Kueng and Lane.

Several bystanders recorded the event on their smartphones, with one video showing Floyd repeating “Please”, “I can’t breathe”, and “Don’t kill me” being widely circulated on social media platforms and broadcast by the media. All four officers were fired the next day.