Councilman: "I can't breathe" quote wasn't mocking

An Arizona city councilman is apologizing for using the phrase "I can't breathe" during a rally to protest the mandatory use of face masks last week.

Scottsdale City Councilman Guy Phillips said "it was a bad thing to say" and he had "no intention of mocking anybody."

Phllips drew criticism from the governor and others after invoking George Floyd's dying words of "I can't breathe" during a protest over an order to wear masks to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Scottsdale Councilman Guy Phillips uttered the remark at a protest Wednesday but later insisted the comment was about mandatory masks and not police misconduct.

The words were the last said by Floyd, who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. His death prompted worldwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.