MINNEAPOLIS -- At least seven Minneapolis police officers have quit and another seven are in the process of resigning, citing a lack of support from department and city leaders as protests over George Floyd’s death escalated.
Current and former officers told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that officers are upset with Mayor Jacob Frey’s decision to abandon the Third Precinct station during the protests.
Demonstrators set the building on fire after officers left. Protesters also have hurled bricks and insults at officers, numerous officers and protesters have been injured and the state has launched a civil rights investigation into the department.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar told CNN on Sunday that the department is “rotten to the root.”
Mylan Masson, a retired Minneapolis officer and use-of-force expert, says officers don’t feel appreciated.
Protesters in US call attention to deaths of more black men
Anti-racism protesters are calling attention to the deaths of two more black men, one who was found hanging from a tree in California and another who was fatally shot by police outside an Atlanta restaurant.
The Atlanta police chief resigned hours later and police announced Sunday one officer had been fired.
In Europe, protesters in Italy and Germany sought to show solidarity with their American counterparts and to confront bias in their own countries.
The fresh wave of protests come nearly three weeks after Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck.
