SAN ANTONIO — Weighing in on what he called "the murder of another Black American in police custody," Mayor Ron Nirenberg took to Twitter to comment on the death of Texas native George Floyd in Minnesota after video appeared to show a police officer kneeling on his neck and eventually killing him, setting of days of protests in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
Nirenberg added his voice to the chorus of those calling for justice in Floyd's death. In recent weeks the mayor has reserved his platform on Twitter largely for informing his followers about the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic's local impact, making his Friday afternoon tweet a rare departure from the topic of COVID-19.
In recent days, police chiefs across the Lone Star State have also called for accountability. Earlier in the day, authorities in Minnesota said that Derek Chauvin, the former Minnesota officer who killed Floyd by kneeling on his neck, had been arrested and charged with manslaughter and murder.