GoFundMe set up by family of black man killed by police raises over GHC 5.4 million

- Floyd’s brother set up a GoFundMe page on Wednesday, May 27, two days after the footage of George's arrest emerged

- In just over 24 hours, donors have raised more than GHC 5.4 million towards Floyd's memorial fund

- Floyd died after a brutal incident of a police officer kneeling on his neck which is now under investigation by the FBI and has triggered a national outcry

- But in the wake of the tragedy, his surviving family members have been overwhelmed with kindness

- Philonise Floyd described how his family watched in terror when they saw the harrowing and now infamous footage of Floyd being pinned to the ground

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A GoFundMe campaign to help the family of George Floyd who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck during his arrest, has surpassed $1 million.

The donation page, created by Floyd’s sibling, Philonise Floyd, had attracted more than 50,000 donations as of Thursday, May 28, afternoon.

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According to the sibling's description on the page, the campaign will help the family cover Floyd's funeral and burial expenses, as well as help them continue to seek justice for him.

"My family and I watched in absolute horror as the now infamous and horrifying video began to spread quickly throughout social media," Philonise wrote.

"As some officers knelt on his neck, other officers participated and watched; no one took any action to save my brother's life," he added.

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Floyd's death quickly sparked outrage and led to protests across the country.

The tragedy also led to the firing of four Minneapolis police officers on Tuesday, May 26, when a video of the incident went viral on social media.

Before the video gained global attention, police had characterised Floyd's death as being the result of a medical incident.

In the footage, Floyd is seen lying on his stomach next to a Minneapolis patrol car as one of the officers kneels on his neck.

"Please, please, please, I can't breathe. My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Please, please, I can't breathe," Floyd struggles to tell the officers.

Bystanders watching the incident pleaded for the officer to stand up but a second officer deflected the comments and then appeared to mock Floyd.

In the incident, authorities said Floyd, who was a restaurant security guard, matched the description of a forgery suspect and subsequently resisted when they took him to custody.

In a Wednesday, May 27, press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for charges against the white officer while also asserting that Floyd's race played a part in his death.

"He would be alive today if he were white. I'm not a prosecutor, but let me be clear, the arresting officer killed someone," Frey said of Floyd, according to CBS News.

In other news, Ghanaian Benjamin Aidoo, the leader of the troupe of dancing pallbearers who have become a global sensation because of a viral meme, is happy that US President Donald Trump has shared footage of the dancers.

According to the BBC, Trump re-posted a video that had been doctored to show the pallbearers dancing with a coffin that had the words "Biden president" written on the side on Facebook.

Benjamin Aidoo was quickly interviewed by the BBC on his impression regarding the US President's post and Ben stated that he saw the president's Facebook post as the "ultimate endorsement" of his work.

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Source: YEN.com.gh