Black Lives Matter protesters in the UK toppled a 125-year-old slave trader statue and sank it in a river

• Black Lives Matter protesters in the UK tore down a statue of Edward Colston, a former slave trader.
• Protesters in Bristol on Sunday used rope to topple the statue before rolling it into the River Avon.
• The controversial statue was erected in 1895 and was the subject of a much debate regarding its removal.

Black Lives Matter protesters tore down a 125-year-old statue of Edward Colston, a former slave trader, during a protest in Bristol on Sunday.

The UK demonstrators were publicly protesting police brutality on Sunday following the death George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for over 8 minutes.

Protesters used rope to topple the statue and then rolled it over to the nearby River Avon, where the statue was sunk.

Some users posted videos of the statue coming down on Twitter.

One series of videos captured the process of rolling the statue toward the river for sinking.

The controversial statue was erected in Bristol city centre in 1895 and was the subject of a recent debate regarding its removal. Colston was known to have made his fortune through trading slaves, though he was also known for donating part of his riches to charitable causes.

The debate over the bronze statue gained more momentum over the last week, as protests regarding racism became more widespread.