Protest planned today in Pleasant Hills

By ERIC SEIVERLING

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

Tensions are running high in Pleasant Hills as the borough and surrounding areas brace for a prayer vigil this afternoon to protest the death of George Floyd.

The vigil is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. in the Southland Shopping Center parking lot in front of LA Fitness.

The event comes on the heels of a 15-second viral video that circulated online earlier this week showing two Pleasant Hills Middle School students mocking Floyd as one student pinned the other student to the ground, with the pinned student saying “Please sir, stop it, I cannot breathe, please sir, I am going to die,” as people are heard laughing in the background.

Floyd’s death has garnered national attention, and has resulted in demonstrations and rioting across the country.

Floyd, 46, died May 25 after pleading “I can’t breathe” while a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck, in an encounter that was captured on video by a bystander.

The former Minneapolis police officer seen in the video pinning Floyd to the ground, Derek Chauvin, was arrested by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He is charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

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