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A Seattle police officer was seen kneeling on the necks of suspected looters amid protests against the death of George Floyd, who died after an officer kneeled on his neck in now-viral footage.
The police department was responding to reports of looting at a T-Mobile on Saturday night when the incident occurred.
Journalist Matt McKnight recorded the confrontation and shared it to Twitter, showing the scene as multiple suspects were arrested outside of the vandalised store.
A man wearing an orange sweatshirt could be seen being tackled to the ground by multiple officers, as one placed their knee of his neck while restraining his arms.
Multiple protesters were heard in the video shouting “get off his neck!” as the man laid on the street, his head pressed into the ground. At one point, a second officer pulls the other officer’s knee from the man’s neck to his back, while continuing to restrain him.
Several seconds before the confrontation between the officer and the man in the orange sweatshirt, the same cop appeared to be kneeling on the neck of another suspected looter while assisting with an arrest.
Demonstrations have consumed at least 30 cities across the US over the weekend to protest the police-involved killing of Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man who was seen pleading that he could not breathe as a white Minneapolis officer kneeled on his neck.
George Floyd death: Minneapolis protests erupt in the streets
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Derek Chauvin, the officer involved in his death, has been fired and arrested on third-degree murder charges for kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, according to the charging documents.
Many of the protesters participating in the demonstrations – some of which turned into chaotic scenes of looting and riots during the weekend – said they were also opposing use of fatal force against unarmed black men by police departments across the country.
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