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As protests rage after the death of George Floyd, his brother has described the actions of police as a "modern-day lynching" and called for the police officers involved to be charged with first-degree murder.

The death of Mr Floyd while a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck prompted a global outcry of anger over police brutality towards black people in the United States, which led to at-times violent protests across the country.

Derek Chauvin, the then-Minneapolis Police Department officer who was kneeling on Mr Floyd when he died, has been charged with manslaughter and third-degree murder, but Mr Floyd's brother, Philonise, said all officers involved should "be convicted of first-degree murder and given the death penalty".

"They didn't care about what they wanted to do with my brother. He wasn't a person to them, he was scum, he was nothing," he told MSNBC.

"I can imagine how many people they did like that. I don't need them on the streets to kill anybody else.

"I'm hurt, my family's hurt, his kids are hurt they will grow up without a father. Everybody is crying and in pain right now."

Philonise Floyd spoke to MSNBC anchor and prominent African-American activist Al Sharpton about his brother's death and the response to it, saying President Donald Trump got in touch with him but that he struggled to get a word in.

"It was so fast. He didn't give me an opportunity to even speak," he said.

"I was trying to talk to him but he just kept pushing me off like 'I don't want to hear what you're talking about'.

"I just told him I want justice. I said I couldn't believe they committed a modern-day lynching in broad daylight. I can't stand for that.

"It hurt me. I just don't understand, man.

"Why we got to go through this," he continued, clearly emotional.

"Why we got to have all this pain, man. I love my brother and I'm never going to see him again."

Protesting started in Minneapolis days after video of George Floyd's final moments spread across the internet.

Since then, there have been mass demonstrations in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and more in the wake of not just Mr Floyd's death, but also the police shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky and the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia.

Some protests have spilled over into rioting and looting that has seen buildings burned down.

While Philonise Floyd said he did not condone the more violent actions, he completely understands their frustration, anger and pain.

"I see why a lot of people are doing a lot of different things around the world," he told CNN.

"I don't want them to lash out like that, but I can't stop people right now, because they have pain. They have the same pain that I feel.

"I want everything to be peaceful, but I can't make everybody be peaceful. I can't. It's hard."

Link:
George Floyd's brother says Donald Trump barely let him speak during their conversation - ABC News