My Son Died Begging Cops To Let Him Breathe ..Right Here In The UK

Black lives matter:mother's pain as cop case shocks world

- Geraldine Mckelvie

Horrific footage of George Floyd’s death sent a shiver down the spine of one British mum.

Aji Lewis could not bear to watch a clip showing a US police officer kneeling on George’s neck as the 46-year-old gasped: “I can’t breathe.”

For Aji, 70, the words would be too painful to hear – because it was exactly what her son said as he pleaded with cops for his life.

Olaseni, 23, was pinned down by 11 officers after being sectioned at Bethlem Royal Hospital in Beckenham, South London, in 2010.

His brain was starved of oxygen and his life support had to be switched off a few days later.

Olaseni, known as Seni, is among more than 180 people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities who have died after contact with police in Britain since 1990. Research from charity Inquest showed force or restraint was used twice as often compared to nonBAME deaths. But no police officer has been convicted of murder or manslaughter in any of the cases.

Mum-of-three Aji said: “I can’t watch the George Floyd video, because he is saying the same thing as Seni said, ‘I can’t breathe’.