Black Man’s Killing Proves Systematic Racism in US: Iran FM Spokesman

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says the recent heart-wrenching killing of an American black man by a white policeman that has gone viral testifies to methodical racism and white supremacy in the United States.

“Brutal killing of #George Floyd by Minneapolis’ white man in uniform in cold blood is a harrowing demonstration of systematic racism and white supremacism,” Abbas Mousavi tweeted on Thursday, referring to the victim.

The condemnation came three days after disturbing footage surfaced online showing the police officer choking unarmed Floyd to death by forcing him to the ground and pinning him down with his knee.

The officer refused to relieve the pressure although Floyd was heard repeatedly pleading for his life and saying, “I can’t breathe.”

The officers had been called to the scene, a Cup Foods’ store on the 3700 block of Chicago Avenue South, after the African American victim was reported to be attempting to use forged documents.

Police spokesperson John Elders claimed that Floyd had resisted arrest, and also alleged that he had started “going into medical distress” after the officers forced him into handcuffs. The viral footage, however, came to clearly disprove the account.

Floyd’s death has been followed by protests across the country, with rallies turning violent in Minneapolis, where the police used tear gas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators, and Los Angeles.

Mousavi, meanwhile, regretted that such racism and white supremacy that enabled Floyd’s murder were being “glorified by the current [US] administration.”

Community members and leaders have expressed outrage over the incident, which has drawn comparisons to Eric Garner, an unarmed African American who died in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by New York City police and pleading: “I can’t breathe.”

Ben Crump, the Floyd’s lawyer, said in a statement on Tuesday that “this abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.”

“How many ‘while Black’ deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?” he said.

Source: Press TV