Seattle cop seen on video kneeling on man’s neck during arrest at Floyd protest

A Seattle police officer was filmed pressing his knee on the neck of a man detained during a protest for George Floyd, who died after a now-fired cop used the same knee-to-neck restraint on him, according to The Independent.

But before the suspected looter could be seriously injured — and as bystanders yelled at the cop to stop — another officer pushed his colleague off, the New York Post reported.

“Get your knee off his neck,” bystanders cried as the officers detained the man, according to Insider.

The officer’s knee-to-neck restraint was similar to what fired Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin used on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, resulting in his death, according to ABC News. It was a week ago Monday and Floyd repeatedly cried out, saying “I can’t breathe,” as three other officers watched, taking no action, according to ABC.

Chauvin was arrested on Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

The three other officers were fired but have not been charged in connection with Floyd’s death, which continues to fuel protests and riots across the nation, including in Seattle on Saturday night.

The Seattle incident took place outside a T-Mobile store that people had broken into in downtown Seattle, Insider reported. The man being detained was accused of looting.

The video was captured by Crosscut journalist Matt McKnight, who shared it on Twitter Saturday, according to the Post. The video shows two cops tackling a man in an orange sweatshirt to the ground, then one of them kneels on the man’s neck for about 13 seconds before the other officer shoves him off, the Post reported.

Before that confrontation started, the same officer appeared to be kneeling on another suspected looter’s neck during arrest, according to the Independent.

“This person was one of the group of about 20 individuals who tried to escape when Seattle Police Department arrived on scene,” McKnight told Insider. “If you watch the other full-length video you can see the officer diverted from another arrest to get him.”

Gov. Jay Inslee called the Washington National Guard into Seattle Sunday, a move that hasn’t happened in more than 20 years, according to Crosscut. Mayor Jenny Durkan declared a 5 p.m. curfew on Saturday and Sunday, Q13 Fox reported.

This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Seattle cop seen on video kneeling on man’s neck during arrest at Floyd protest."