Cardi B, Diddy, Ciara and LeBron James led the way of celebs outraged over the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, after a police officer drove his knee into the back of Floyd's neck, rendering him unable to breath

A number of celebs took to social media on Tuesday and Wednesday to express their anger and frustration over the death of the 46-year-old on Monday, after the exchange was caught on camera. 

Many expressed their sentiments on the issue after the four police officers in the incident involving were terminated Tuesday, as FBI and state officials began probes on what had occurred.

The incident, which was caught on tape, was likened to the 2014 death of Eric Garner in New York after a police officer choked him.

'My heart can’t take it, seeing what’s happened to #GeorgeFloyd,' Ciara said. 'This is eerily similar to the death of #EricGarner. There has to be a stopping point in the process of arresting someone. It’s all senseless.

Cardi B wrote on social media: 'Enough is enough! What will it take? A civil war? A new president? Violent riots? It’s tired ! I’m tired ! The country is tired!

 'You don’t put fear in people when you do this you just show how coward YOU ARE ! And how America is really not the land of the free!'

Voice of her generation: Cardi B was exasperated amid the latest in a string of closely-scrutinized cases with racial overtones making the news.

Diddy posted an emoji of praying hands in reaction to the senseless death, while Viola Davis put the racial imbalance of the situation and others like it into perspective.

'This is what it means to be Black in America. Tried. Convicted. Killed for being Black,' the Oscar-winner said. 'We are dictated by hundreds of years of policies that have restricted our very existence and still have to continue to face modern day lynchings.

'Here's the thing......America will never be great until we can figure out a way for it to work for EVERYBODY!!!'

The image Davis posted of Floyd was also shared by Zoe Kravitz, Jessica Alba, Penelope Cruz, Jamie Lee Curtis./DailyMail

George Floyd: Black man dies after US police pin him to ground

A Black man who yelled "I cannot breathe" as a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down with his knee in the US state of Minnesota died late on Monday, police confirmed, drawing outrage from community members and leaders, and leading to the officers' termination. 

Video of the incident shows the police officer pinning down George Floyd, believed to be in his 40s, to the pavement with his knee on the man's neck for several minutes. Floyd was identified by prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who said he had been retained by the Floyd family. 

Floyd can be heard saying in the video: "Please, please, I cannot breathe."

The officer tells Floyd to "relax".

Floyd responds: "I can't breathe. Please, the knee in my neck."

The officer continues to hold down Floyd with his knee for several minutes, with Floyd pleading and asking for water.

"My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Please, please. I can't breathe," Floyd cries out, while moaning and trying to cough.

Floyd eventually appears motionless under the officer's knee.

Those who were watching the incident unfold can be heard begging police to move off Floyd.

"He's not f****** moving," an onlooker can be heard saying. "Get off of his f****** neck."

It is unclear what happened before and after the video was taken.

FBI to investigate

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said during a news conference on Tuesday that the four officers involved in the incident were now "former employees". 

The city's mayor, Jacob Frey, confirmed that the officers had been terminated, saying "this is the right decision for our city". 

In a statement earlier on Tuesday, the Minneapolis Police Department said its officers were responding to a "report of a forgery in progress".

"After [the suspect] got out [of his car], he physically resisted officers," the statement said. "Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and note he appeared to be suffering medical distress."

He was then transported to a nearby medical centre where he died a short time later, the department said.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensive (BCA) said it was "investigating the circumstances surrounding an incident".

It added that it was sharing information with the FBI, which "is conducting a separate federal civil rights investigation at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department."

Arradondo has said he requested the FBI involvement after receiving additional information "from a community source". He did not elaborate. 

The police officers involved in the incident were wearing body cameras, the Minneapolis police department said. The footage has not been made publicly available. 

'Trauma on trauma'

Community members and leaders have expressed outrage over the incident, with many drawing comparisons to Eric Garner, an unarmed Black man who died in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by New York City police and pleading: "I can't breathe." That incident sparked nationwide protests. 

"We all watched the horrific death of George Floyd on video as witnesses begged the police officer to take him to the police car and get off his neck," Crump, the Floyd's lawyer, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge," he added. "How many 'while Black' deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends?"

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a local lawyer and prominent activist, wrote on Facebook that this "is trauma on trauma on trauma".

"We can't escape police violence even in a global pandemic," she added./AlJazeera

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