Emily Ratajkowski has joined the protests in Los Angeles over the death of George Floyd.
George Floyd, an African-American man, was arrested by Minneapolis police on Monday, May 25th, for reportedly using a counterfeit $20 note in a store. While being detained, Derek Chauvin - a 19 year veteran of the force - knelt on his neck for eight minutes, which resulted in him losing consciousness, and later passing away.
Protests, both peaceful and violent, have since broken out across the country, with people demanding that all four officers involved be brought to justice. On Friday it was revealed that Chauvin had been detained and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. He was arrested by the state’s bureau of criminal apprehension.
Ratajkowski took to social media to share photos taken from the Los Angeles protests. She is seen holding a sign, which reads "Dismantle power structures of oppression."
The model also shared a video of a burning police car in the Fairfax district, with the hashtag, "#defundthepolice."
"Here’s what I can tell you about the cop car on #Fairfax: we marched for over an hour and a half through streets and did not see one single cop. When we headed back up #Beverly toward #PanPacific a empty cop car was in the middle of the intersection and 10 feet away 4 other cops," she continued to tweet.
"& their cars. People started to smash the mirrors and graffiti the car and then it was on fire," Ratajkowski added.
"The media coverage of the #LosAngelesProtest are complete bullshit. The police are MILITARIZED and civilians have no weapons. These are not violent protests but they become violent when an actual ARMY is deployed. RIOTS ARE THE LANGUAGE OF THE UNHEARD. Try listening!
Is destroying an empty old cop car or looting a target violent compared to police beating people with batons, firing rubber bullets feet from protestors and using tear gas? This is supposed to be a FREE country and people are protesting the injustice and the power structures"
Floyd's family has since released a statement calling Chauvin's arrest a "welcome but overdue step on the road to justice” and added that members “expected a first-degree murder charge" - which they still demand.
"The pain that the black community feels over this murder and what it reflects about the treatment of black people in America is raw and spilling out on to streets across [the country]," the statement added.
The statement concluded by saying:
"Today, George Floyd's family is having to explain to his children why their father was executed by police on video. It's essential that the City closely examines and changes its policing policies and training procedures to correct for the lack of proper field supervision; the use of appropriate, non-lethal restraint techniques; the ability to recognize medical signs associated with the restriction of airflow, and the legal duty to seek emergency medical care and stop a civil rights violation."
Under Minnesota law, a first-degree murder charge would require prosecutors to prove Chauvin’s actions were willful and premeditated.
In footage of the arrest, George Floyd can be heard pleading for help - repeatedly telling officers that he couldn't breathe. He then became unresponsive during the arrest and was later pronounced dead.
Watch a news report on protests in Minneapolis below, where a white CNN journalist describes how differently he was treated by police at the demonstration: