The untimely death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis law enforcement officers has prompted global protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
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In Berlin, thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday outside the US embassy next to the iconic Brandenberg Gate to protest Floyd's death.
Attendees held up signs that read "Black Lives Matter," "Justice for George Floyd" and "I Can't Breathe."
Floyd died on May 25 after he was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was seen on video kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed and unarmed Floyd, who repeatedly said, "I can't breathe."
Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The incident has sparked nationwide protests in the US, and demonstrations are now spreading across the globe.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Peckham, south London, on Saturday to protest Floyd's death, at one point stopping all traffic on the main road.
The UK has had its own turbulent history between police and the black community, which came to a head in the 2011 Tottenham Riots, a series of riots in response to the police killing of 29-year-old Mark Duggan.
A number of events are planned in the coming week in London, although none originate directly from the official Black Lives Matter UK group, which has said it is still "discussing the implications of calling a mass march in the middle of a pandemic that is killing us the most."
The UK has felt the brunt of coronavirus in Europe, with a staggering death toll of 38,376. The Office of National Statistics reported in early May that black men and women are almost twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than white people in England and Wales.
However, a number of social media posts have begun circulating, indicating a mass protest planned in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon, where attendees are being called upon to "Knee for Floyd."
"If you can't attend, please kneel in your area in solidarity and share. We are doing this to place pressure on the American government and show that this is a a world-wide issue," reads the post.
Peaceful protests are also scheduled to take place in Hyde Park, Parliament Square and the US Embassy on June 3, 6 and 7, respectively.
In Canada, thousands turned out at Toronto's Christie Pitts Park on Saturday and marched throughout the city to police headquarters downtown to protest the deaths of both Floyd and Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a woman who died last week after falling from her 24th-floor balcony after police officers were called to her home. Toronto Police are currently investigating the incident.
Australian Associated Press
