A woman holds up a Black Lives Matter sign at the Michael Brown memorial in Ferguson, Missouri, U.S., on August 9, 2015. Xinhua/Marcus DiPaola
By
GENEVA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. authorities
must take "serious action" to halt police killings of
unarmed African
Americans, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle
Bachelet said Thursday, condemning the killing of an African American
while in police custody in Minneapolis.
George Floyd died on Monday evening shortly after a white police
officer held him down with a knee on his neck though the black man in
his 40s repeatedly pleaded, "I can't breathe," and "please, I can't
breathe."
This is the latest in "a long line of killings of unarmed African
Americans by U.S. police officers and members of the public," Bachelet
said in a statement.
"Procedures must change, prevention systems must be put in place, and
above all police officers who resort to excessive use of force, should
be charged and convicted for the crimes committed," to ensure that
justice is done when they do occur, she said.
Welcomed the government's decision to prioritize an investigation
into the incident, Bachelet expressed concern that similar probes in the
past had resulted in questionable justifications for killings.
"The role that entrenched and pervasive racial discrimination plays
in such deaths must also be fully examined, properly recognized and
dealt with", she said.
While empathizing with the anger unleashed by Floyd's killing, the
high commissioner called on people in Minneapolis and elsewhere to
protest peacefully.
"I urge protestors to express their demands for justice peacefully,
and I urge the police to take utmost care not inflame the current
situation even more with any further use of excessive force," she said.
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