Update—June 1, 12:50 p.m.:

The lawyer of George Floyd’s family, Ben Crump, said that a private autopsy revealed Floyd’s death was caused by homicide by asphyxia and loss of blood flow.

This differs from the reports that Minneapolis officials gave. The official criminal complaint stated that the preliminary autopsy done by the Hennepin County medical examiner “revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”

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George Floyd, father, former athlete and Minneapolis resident died on Monday, May 26, after being kneed and pinned down by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The tragic death of George Floyd was caught on video and later went viral on social media platforms. The tape shows Derek Chauvin, a 19-year Minneapolis police officer, forcefully kneeling on 46-year-old Floyd’s neck, for nearly nine minutes as he pleaded for his life and repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe!” This moment and quote are similar to the pleas of Eric Garner, an African- American man who died from an officer choking him in 2014.

According to the footage, another Minneapolis police officer, Tou Thao, watched the scene unwind as many bystanders empathized and voiced their hurt for Floyd’s circumstances. Following the incident, the Minneapolis Fire Department reported that paramedics moved Floyd from the location as they were doing “chest compressions” and other lifesaving measure on an “unresponsive, pulseless male.”

Protests and riots immediately started to take place in Minneapolis in response to Floyd’s death. Thousands protested the killing of Floyd by marching down stretches of Washington Avenue and Interstate 35. The rioting and protests spread to other states including Georgia, California, Colorado and Florida.

Kaliya Selico, a student studying at Vanguard University, said that the story of George Floyd is a harsh reality.

“The system was never meant to protect African-Americans from jump. Racism will never end simply because everyone develops their own ignorance and different people will always obtain different perspectives,” Selico said.

On May 28, 2020, a police precinct was set on fire in Minneapolis as protests over the death of George Floyd raged for a third straight day. Selico said that she understands why people are enraged, and that she too will always fight for the equality of African-Americans.

Kyle Trujillo, a University of Colorado student athlete, shared very similar thoughts.

“The system is made to act as a legal form of modern-day slavery,” he said. “As a person of color, I have to watch my every move and fear for my life from people who are so called supposed to protect me. I have white family, but I can’t speak to say that every white person is the same.”

“The officer murdered George Floyd with cold blood and he knew what he was doing. I don’t think he should face anything less than first-degree murder,” Trujillo said.

The story of George Floyd has caused for protests to break out across several cities nationwide. As the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI are both independently investigating Floyd’s death, many civilians have made it a point to continue to rage and speak out on the issue.

A petition in support of the George Floyd case can be found here.