KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Officials in Wyandotte County said Friday that they plan to meet with clergy next week in the wake of a black Minnesota man’s death after a white police officer knelt on his neck.
Wyandotte County Sheriff Donald Ash; Interim Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Michael York, and county-city Unified Government Mayor Mayor David Alvey expect to participate in Monday’s meeting. They said they want to discuss how to ensure police respect the “life and dignity” of all people.
The white Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck was arrested on murder charges Friday. The officer, 44-year-old Derek Chauvin, also was accused in court papers of ignoring another officer’s concerns about the handcuffed black man who died after pleading that he could not breathe.
Floyd’s death has sparked protests across the United States and fires and looting in Minneapolis.
Protesters were planning to rally Saturday at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, to demand the convictions of all four police officers involved in the incident that led to Floyd’s death.
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