A black CNN news reporter, Omar Jimenez has been arrested by the police right in the middle of covering the Minneapolis riots over the death of George Floyd.
Omar was live on the air when 2 Minnesota State Police officers in riot gear took the mic out of his hands, placed zip ties around his wrists and took him into custody.
Minnesota police arrest CNN reporter and camera crew as they report from protests in Minneapolis https://t.co/oZdqBti776 pic.twitter.com/3QbeTjD5ed
— CNN (@CNN) May 29, 2020
The Police officials claim they made the arrest because the reporter allegedly did not move when asked to. Live video footage, however shows Omar Jimenez, a reporter for CNN who is black, politely telling police officers that they were complying. Meanwhile, Josh Campell, a white reporter for CNN was approached by police but was not arrested. “I was treated much differently than (Omar) was,” Campell says.
However, the Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz apologized for the arrest saying, “It was totally unacceptable.”
At about 9:45am, Omar tweeted that he had returned to reporting on the protests.
And we’re back pic.twitter.com/dkYHYxe0u7
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) May 29, 2020
The protests which began on Tuesday, following the death of George Floyd, 46, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest on May 25. The four officers involved have been fired.
In a tweet, the former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wade in saying, “This is not abstract: a black reporter was arrested while doing his job this morning, while the white police officer who killed George Floyd remains free. I am glad swift action was taken, but this, to me, says everything.”
This is not abstract: a black reporter was arrested while doing his job this morning, while the white police officer who killed George Floyd remains free. I am glad swift action was taken, but this, to me, says everything.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 29, 2020
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