A video showing a Minneapolis policeman kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed man repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe,” and who appears lose consciousness or die while being pinned down, is “gut wrenching and deeply disturbing,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a May 27 statement.

“The sadness and pain are intense,” Archbishop Hebda said of the circumstances surrounding the May 25 death of George Floyd. “Let us pray for comfort for his grieving family and friends, peace for a hurting community and prudence while the process moves forward. We need a full investigation that results in rightful accountability and veritable justice.”

A bystander filmed part of police’s confrontation with 46-year-old Floyd, an African American restaurant worker from St. Louis Park who was reportedly arrested on suspicion of forgery. Floyd was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center. The four policemen involved Floyd’s arrest have been fired, and the FBI is conducting a federal civil rights investigation. The officer who pinned Floyd is white.

The death inspired hundreds of people to protest May 26 at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street, where police subdued Floyd. Some protestors vandalized police vehicles and the building for the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct building, where it is believed the officers involved worked. Police employed tear gas and flash grenades to disperse the crowd, and some protestors hurled rocks and water bottles at police.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called May 27 for charges to be brought against the officer who pinned Floyd with his knee.

In his statement, Archbishop Hebda called for respect for all people and asked for prayers for Floyd and his family.

“Particularly at this time when human fragility has been brought into focus by the Covid-19 pandemic, we are called to respect the worth and dignity of each individual, whether they be civilians in need of protection or law enforcement officers charged with providing that protection,” he said. “All human life is sacred. Please join our Catholic community in praying for George Floyd and his family, and working for that day when ‘love and truth will meet (and) justice and peace will kiss’ (Psalm 85).”