The family of an African American who died in 2019 in Las Vegas in circumstances similar to those of the death of George Floyd filed a complaint Thursday, July 15 against the city of Nevada, in the southwest of the United States, and the four police officers involved, announced the same day their lawyers.
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On September 5, 2019, around 5:50 a.m., an agent wanted to check Byron Williams, 50, who was riding his bike without legal lighting. Arrested a few minutes later, he was pinned to the ground face down while the reinforcement officers blocked his head, shoulders and back, according to images from pedestrian cameras carried by the police and made public by the police. . During his arrest, he repeated
"I cannot breathe"
several times before losing consciousness. Taken to a local hospital, he died an hour later, according to the complaint. Disturbingly, police pedestrian cameras were all turned off for more than ten minutes
"Between the moment when the agents checked if Byron Williams was breathing and the arrival of the ambulance"
, underlines the complaint.
"Byron Williams was not armed"
Byron Williams' family believe that the use of force was not justified and that the officers committed an assault and negligent acts which led to his death.
She claims damages, the amount of which is not specified.
"Byron Williams was unarmed and had done nothing wrong when the police decided to stop him, then hunt him down and literally squeeze the life out of his body,"
said Ben Crump, famous lawyer for the Floyd family. and other black victims of police violence, who joined in the complaint.
In a statement, he denounced
"the impunity"
enjoyed by the four police officers, who were not prosecuted.
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The autopsy had concluded with a homicide, according to the local press. His death was due to the combination of an ingestion of methamphetamine and contributing factors such as cardiovascular disease, made worse by his immobilization on the ground. The death of George Floyd in similar circumstances at the end of May 2020 in Minneapolis had sparked an immense wave of anger against racism and police violence around the world. The white policeman found responsible for his death was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison and the African American's family were awarded $ 27 million in compensation.