*The Minneapolis teen who used her cell phone camera to record the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis officers is slated to receive a national courage award.
Darnella Frazier, 17, was on the scene of the tragedy that occurred on Memorial Day, after officers attempted to arrest Floyd on suspicion of forgery. Frazier’s footage, which she posted on her Facebook page, shows the victim handcuffed and on the ground with Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the back of his neck, with Foyd pleading: “Please, I can’t breathe.”
The officer ignores Floyd, even after he appears to lose consciousness, keeping his knee on the victim’s neck for nearly five minutes.
READ MORE: 3rd-Degree Murder Charge Dismissed Against Derek Chauvin, Ex-officer in George Floyd Case
Frazier previously revealed that she caught major heat on social media for posting the video, critics called her a clout chaser.
“I’m doing it for clout ?? For attention?? What ?? To get paid ?? Now y’all just sound dumb and ignorant,” she said in a post to her haters back in May. “I don’t expect anyone who wasn’t placed in my position to understand why and how I feel the way that I do!! MIND YOU I am a minor ! 17 years old, of course I’m not about to fight off a cop I’m SCARED wtf. I don’t give 2 f—s about what y’all would’ve did because was y’all there?? NO.,” she wrote.
Once shared online, the video sparked a wave of protests, demanding justice not only for Floyd, but Breonna Taylor — who was shot and killed by police in Kentucky.
“With nothing more than a cell phone and sheer guts, Darnella changed the course of history in this country, sparking a bold movement demanding an end to systemic anti-Black racism and violence at the hands of police,” PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement Tuesday.
“With remarkable steadiness, Darnella carried out the expressive act of bearing witness, and allowing hundreds of millions around the world to see what she saw.”
Frazier told the Star Tribune following Floyd’s death, “The world needed to see what I was seeing,” she said. “Stuff like this happens in silence too many times.”
PEN America in December will honor Darnella with the PEN/Benenson Courage Award.
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