People In Ireland Are Demanding Justice After Security Guards Killed This Black Man Similar To The Killing Of George Floyd
The incident drew immediate comparisons to the killing of George Floyd in the US— a Black man who died in Minneapolis in May 2020.
Hundreds of people are protesting outside Ireland's parliament, demanding justice after security guards killed a Black man Yves Sakila, pinning him to the ground at a department store, sending shockwaves through the country and drawing comparisons to the killing of George Floyd.
Sakila was 35 years old, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and had lived in Ireland since 2004, who was described as a quiet and shy man by people who knew him.
He had once worked in information technology before reportedly facing homelessness in recent years.
On May 15, Sakila was detained by security guards outside Arnotts, a department store on Henry Street after allegedly stealing two bottles of perfume.
A video of the incident, widely shared on social media, showed Sakila being pinned face-down to the ground by at least five men for almost five minutes as bystanders watched.
Two of the men held his face to the ground, and at one point one of them appeared to kneel on his head or neck for several seconds.
When police, know in Ireland as the Gardaí, arrived at the scene, Sakila had already been held on the ground by security guards for some time.
Officers handcuffed him in an apparent attempt to take control of the situation.
But almost immediately after the handcuffs were applied, they realized Sakila was unresponsive, removed the handcuffs and began performing CPR, according to the Irish Times.
He was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.
The incident drew immediate comparisons to the killing of George Floyd in the US— a Black man who died in Minneapolis in May 2020 after a white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, triggering one of the largest protest movements in modern American history and sparking demonstrations worldwide.
"When you watch that video, it literally feels like a reenactment of what happened to George Floyd," spokesperson for Black Coalition Ireland Yemi Adenuga said.
"I can't believe something like this happened in America in 2020 and then happened here in Ireland in 2026," David Kaliba, a physics student who attended school with Sakila said.
On May 21, Hundreds of protesters outside parliament chanted "No cover up, no delay" and held signs reading "Justice."
Black Coalition Ireland set out five demands, including a transparent, independent investigation into Sakila's death, racial awareness training for all Gardaí and legislation prohibiting excessive force during detention.
Arnotts issued a statement saying, "No loss of life should ever be the outcome of a retail security incident. We recognize the deep hurt and concern this tragedy has caused within Dublin's Congolese community and among the wider public."
A postmortem examination has returned inconclusive results.
Authorities are awaiting further testing, including toxicology analysis, with those results not expected for several weeks, the Irish Star reported.
The family of Sakila said they had still not been told the cause of his death.
Their solicitor John Gerard Cullen said the circumstances of the death involved what appeared to be a "disproportionate use of violence," according to the Irish Times.
Two separate investigations are now underway — one conducted by the Gardaí, and another by Fiosrú, Ireland's independent policing ombudsman.
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