PETAL, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi mayor who sparked outrage when he said he "didn’t see anything unreasonable" about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody is resisting calls to resign, including from his own town’s board of aldermen."Why in the world would anyone choose to become a police officer in our society today?" Petal Mayor Hal Marx tweeted Tuesday, the day four Minneapolis police officers were fired. The 46-year-old Floyd, a black man, was handcuffed and pleading for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck Monday.
In a follow-up tweet, the Republican directly referenced the Floyd case, saying he "didn’t see anything unreasonable": "If you can say you can’t breathe, you’re breathing. Most likely that man died of overdose or heart attack. Video doesn’t show his resistance that got him in that position. Police being crucified."