A Hong Kong police officer knelt on a protester's neck during an arrest, video shows

• A 16-year-old student was detained by Hong Kong police on Friday.
• Video footage shows two officers pinning her down, with one of them kneeling on her neck.
• "I couldn't breathe," she said.
• Her detention mirrors the American police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, who was detained by an officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Two Hong Kong police officers detained a 16-year-old student on Friday. One of the officers pinned her down as the other knelt on her neck, video footage shows.

The Hong Kong Police Force said those officers used "minimum force" to detain the student, and that it was within police protocol.

"I couldn't breathe," the student told Apple Daily, saying that she was "angry and sad" about the police violence she withstood. She has not filed a formal complaint, she said.

Her detention comes one year after protests first erupted in Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill that would allow the semi-autonomous zone to send suspects to mainland China.

China has increased pressure on Hong Kong in recent weeks, and police violence has become a hallmark of the protests.

"The Hong Kong police's heavy-handed crowd-control response on the streets has been livestreamed for the world to see," Amnesty International said in a statement last year. "Much less visible is the plethora of police abuses against protesters that take place out of sight."

"Hong Kong's security forces have engaged in a disturbing pattern of reckless and unlawful tactics against people during the protests. This has included arbitrary arrests and retaliatory violence against arrested persons in custody, some of which has amounted to torture," the human-rights group added.

The Hong Kong student's detention is reminiscent of the American police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, who was pinned under the knee of Derek Chauvin, a now-ousted Minneapolis police officer facing second-degree murder charges, for almost nine minutes.

Protests against police brutality have erupted nationwide and across the world since Floyd was killed on May 25.

When police shot dead Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, in Atlanta on Friday, protests surged across the city.

Brooks was sleeping in his car outside a Wendy's when two officers approached his vehicle. Brooks tussled with officers, taking one of their tasers before running away. An officer shot him in the back.

The Wendy's where Brooks was killed was set on fire a day later.

• Read more:
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• Scotland votes to end export of tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot gear to the United States
• Even if Derek Chauvin is found guilty of murdering George Floyd, he's still eligible to receive a $1.5 million pension
• 'It's reminiscent of Occupy': Protesters in Seattle have established a communal 'autonomous zone' to prove they don't need police