Death of George Floyd

A frame from a video of the event taken by an onlooker.
Date	May 25, 2020; 3 years ago (2020-05-25)
Time	c. 8:00-8:30 p.m. (CDT)[1]
Location	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Coordinates	44°56′03″N 93°15′45″W / 44.9343°N 93.2624°W / 44.9343; -93.2624
Filmed by	Darnella Frazier[2]
Participants	Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng (MPD officers)
Deaths	1 (George Floyd)
Location of Minneapolis, where the incident took place, in Hennepin County and in the state of Minnesota.

George Floyd was an African-American man who died on May 25, 2020, after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for at least seven minutes while he was handcuffed and lying chest down on the road.^[3][4][5] After five minutes, Floyd appeared to stop moving.^[4][5] Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng also helped restrain Floyd, while officer Tou Thao stood nearby to obscure the view of onlookers and cameras.^[6][7] The incident occurred during an arrest of Floyd in Powderhorn, a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was recorded on cell phone video by several bystanders.^[8] The video recordings, showing Floyd repeatedly saying "I can't breathe," were widely circulated on social media platforms and broadcast by the media.^[8] The four officers involved were fired the next day.^[9]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the incident, at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department, while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating whether there were possible violations of Minnesota statutes.^[10]

Demonstrations and protests that began after the death of Floyd were initially peaceful, but quickly became violent as windows were smashed at a police precinct, two stores were set on fire, and other stores were looted and damaged in the surrounding areas.^[11] Law enforcement responded by shooting tear gas and firing rubber bullets into the crowds.^[12][13] Floyd's death has been compared to the 2014 death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who repeated "I can't breathe" eleven times after being placed in a choke hold by a police officer during an arrest.^[4][14]

People involved

George Floyd

George Floyd was a 46-year-old African-American man.^[4] A native of Houston, Texas, he attended Yates High School as a multi-sport athlete and graduated in 1993.^[15] He was also a rapper associated with Screwed Up Click, and he freestyled under the alias "Big Floyd" on mixes released by DJ Screw.^[16] Floyd lived in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and had worked in nearby Minneapolis as a restaurant security guard for five years.^[17][18] He had recently lost his job at the time of his death due to Minnesota's stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[19] Floyd was the father of two daughters, ages 6 and 22, that remained in Houston.^[20][21]

Police officers

Derek Chauvin, age 44, was identified as the officer who pinned Floyd to the ground by kneeling on his neck.^[22] He had been an officer in the Minneapolis Police Department since around 2001.^[22] Chauvin had 18 complaints on his official record, two of which ended in discipline from the department including official letters of reprimand.^[23] He had been involved in three police shootings, one of which was fatal.^[22][24][25]

Officer Tou Thao went through the police academy in 2009 and was hired to a full-time position in 2012. In 2017, Thao was a defendant in an excessive use of force lawsuit that was settled out of court for $25,000.^[22]

Two other officers present were identified as Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.^[26][10] Neither had prior complaints on their records.^[23]

All four officers were fired after the incident.^[27]

Prior contact

According to former club owner Maya Santamaria, Floyd and Chauvin both worked as security guards and had overlapping shifts at the Latin nightclub, El Nuevo Rodeo, although it is not evident that they knew each other.^{[28][better source needed]}

Events

Initial statements from the police and paramedics

Shortly after 8:00 p.m. on May 25, Memorial Day, Minneapolis Police Department officers responded to a "forgery in progress" on Chicago Avenue South in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis. According to WCCO, the implication was that Floyd "tried to use forged documents at a nearby deli." According to a co-owner of Cup Foods, Floyd attempted to use a $20 bill that a staff member identified as counterfeit.^[29] According to police, Floyd was in a nearby car and "appeared to be under the influence." A spokesman for the police department said the officers ordered him to exit the vehicle, at which point he "physically resisted."^[2][5]

According to the Minneapolis police, officers "were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance." No weapons were used in the arrest, according to a statement from the Minneapolis police.^[2]

According to the Minneapolis Fire Department, paramedics moved Floyd from the location and were doing chest compressions and other lifesaving measures on an "unresponsive, pulseless male."^[30] Floyd was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.^[31]

Video of the arrest filmed by bystander

Part of the arrest was filmed by a bystander and streamed to Facebook Live.^[2][7] This video went viral.^[32]

When the video starts, Floyd is already pinned chest down to the ground, and Officer Chauvin is kneeling on his neck.^[4][8][33] Floyd repeatedly tells Chauvin: "Please," and "I can't breathe," while also moaning, groaning and sobbing.^[2][33][34] A bystander tells the police: "You got him down. Let him breathe."^[35]

After Floyd says, "I'm about to die," Chauvin tells Floyd to relax.^[33] The police ask Floyd: "What do you want?" Floyd repeats: "I can't breathe."^[34] Floyd continues: "Please, the knee in my neck, I can't breathe."^[33] Someone tells Floyd to "get up and get in the car," (which Agence France Presse, CBS News and WVLT-TV identify as one of the officers,^[2][36][37] while Buzzfeed News states that it is "unclear" whether it was an officer speaking)^[38] to which Floyd replies: "I will ... I can't move."^[39] Floyd also cries out: "Mama!"^[34] Floyd protests: "My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts," and requests water.^[34] The police do not audibly respond to Floyd.^[34] Floyd begs: "Don't kill me."^[40]

A bystander points out that Floyd is bleeding from the nose.^[2] Another bystander tells the police that Floyd is "not even resisting arrest right now."^[4] The police tell the bystanders that Floyd was "talking, he's fine"; a bystander replies that Floyd "ain't fine."^[2][41] The bystander protests that the police were preventing Floyd from breathing, urging them to "get him off the ground ... You could have put him in the car by now. He's not resisting arrest or nothing. You're enjoying it. Look at you. Your body language."^[2]

Floyd eventually goes silent and motionless, but Chauvin does not lift his knee from Floyd's neck.^[8][33] The bystanders protest that Floyd was "not responsive," and repeatedly ask the police to check Floyd's pulse.^[2][4] A bystander questions: "Did they fucking kill him?"^[18]

An ambulance eventually arrives, and Chauvin does not remove his knee until emergency medical services put Floyd's unresponsive body on a stretcher. The body is loaded into the ambulance, and taken away.^{[2][40][41][6]} A male bystander says that the police "just really killed" Floyd.^[2][33] Chauvin had knelt on Floyd's neck for at least seven minutes, including around four minutes after Floyd stopped moving.^[3][41][42]

Medics in the ambulance checked Floyd's pulse several times, but found none. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.^[6]

Other videos

A second bystander video, taken from inside a vehicle, shows Floyd being removed from his vehicle. Vice describes that Floyd "doesn't appear to be resisting – just standing next to his car."^[43][44] The Independent wrote, "The video shows two policemen pulling Mr. Floyd from his car without any apparent resistance."^[45]

A six-minute video from a security camera of a nearby restaurant was provided to the media. It shows two officers removing a man from a vehicle. The man is handcuffed and brought to a sidewalk, where he sits down. A third officer arrives. Later, an officer helps the man stand up again, and two officers bring the man to a police vehicle, where the man falls onto the ground.^[46] While police initially claimed that Floyd had resisted arrest, this surveillance video "shows officers calmly detaining him," according to CBS News.^[47] The surveillance video "does not appear to support the assertion that Floyd resisted arrest," wrote CNN.^[48]

A different video of the incident showed "three officers have Floyd pinned on the ground, while another stands over him," reported CBS Evening News.^[6] The Wall Street Journal described it as "three officers are seen sitting on" Floyd.^[49]

Minneapolis Park Police (MPP; different than the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) had one officer at the location of Floyd's detainment by MPD officers. The department released that officer's body cam footage on May 28. The body cam footage showed the MPP officer reassuring two passengers from Floyd’s car that an ambulance would arrive at the scene, and telling them to “stay put”.^[50]

Aftermath

On May 26, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced that the officers were placed on leave.^[51] Later in the day, the four responding officers were fired.^[9]

That day, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced it was reviewing the incident.^[8] Footage from the officers' body cameras was turned over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.^[52] Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump is representing Floyd's family.^[10]

On May 27, misinformation targeting Chauvin began to circulate on social media, with particularly prominent claims that Chauvin was the subject of a photo wearing a "Make Whites Great Again" hat and that Chauvin was onstage with Donald Trump at a political rally later shown to be false.^[53][54][55]

On May 28, the United States Department of Justice released a joint statement with the FBI saying they had made the investigation into Floyd's death "a top priority." They said they had assigned experienced prosecutors and FBI criminal investigators to the matter, and outlined the investigation's next steps: A "comprehensive investigation will compile all available information and thoroughly evaluate evidence and information obtained from witnesses... If it is determined that there has been a violation of federal law, criminal charges will be sought."^[56][57][23] The Wall Street Journal said it was a notably strong statement from the Justice Department, "which often takes a more muted tone in describing continuing investigations."^[23]

Memorials, protests, and riots

In the wake of community outrage in Minneapolis, the bus stop at the site of Floyd's death on Chicago Avenue became a makeshift memorial to him during the day on May 26, with many placards as tributes to him and referencing the Black Lives Matter movement.^[59] As the day progressed, more people showed up to demonstrate against Floyd's death. The crowd, estimated to number hundreds of people,^{[60][61][62][63]} then marched to the 3rd Precinct of the Minneapolis Police.^[62] Participants used posters and slogans with phrases such as "Justice for George," "I Can't Breathe," and "Black Lives Matter."^[64]

The protest attracted hundreds and began peacefully, but began to turn violent, culminating in the precinct being vandalized by spray paint and rocks thrown through the windows of police vehicles by protesters.^[65] Following the march from Chicago Avenue South to the 3rd Precinct, a small group of protesters broke off from the initial crowd and vandalized the 3rd Precinct building and squad cars, as they believed the officers worked there.^[66] Around 8:00 p.m., police in riot gear fired beanbag rounds and chemical agents into the crowd.^[67]

The protests continued on May 27, including at Chicago Avenue South. Demonstrators also protested outside the precinct vandalized the evening prior. Starting at about 6 p.m., police began deploying chemical irritant and shot at numerous protesters with rubber bullets at the precinct. Numerous videos on social media showed some number of protesters breaking the precinct's windows and throwing objects at police.^[68] By later in the evening, the AutoZone on East Lake Street had been set ablaze, and videos posted to social media of extensive looting taking place at a nearby Target began to circulate.^[69]

Over 30 businesses in Midtown, Minneapolis were damaged by Thursday morning. The owner of a pawnshop fatally shot a man he believed was burglarizing his business.^[70][71] Looting also occurred at a Target store in nearby Saint Paul on May 28.^[72] A Wendy's was set on fire, and other stores were looted and damaged in the surrounding areas, including a Target and Dollar Tree.^[11] Looting took place in Midway, Saint Paul at a CVC Pharmacy, Discount Tire outlet and a Walgreens store.^{[citation needed]}

Protests also took place in Los Angeles on May 27, where about 500 to 1,000 protesters held hands to block both directions of US-101 near downtown around 4 p.m. with similar signs and slogans to those from Minnesota before marching towards downtown. The protesters briefly delayed a California Highway Patrol vehicle as well before dispersing around 6:30 p.m.^[73]

Silent demonstrations of around 40 people in Memphis, Tennessee protesting the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery led to "verbal confrontations" with counter-protesters including the Facebook group Confederate 901 and the Memphis Police Department.^[74]

Protests took place on May 28 and into the morning of the 29th in Columbus, Ohio by Capitol Square. Over 300 people were involved, and although protests were initially peaceful, violence and damage caused tear gas from police.^[75] Later, the protests turned increasingly violent, with businesses, bus stops, and Ohio Statehouse windows damaged. Police arrested several protesters, and used pepper spray and flash grenades to further disperse them.^[76]

As night fell in Minneapolis on May 28, fires were lit in buildings surrounding the 3rd Precinct on two sides, and fire alarms were going off inside the building. Police used tear gas against protesters as the temporary fence surrounding the building was torn down. The Third Precinct building was later overran by protestors while police evacuated. The protestors then proceeded to light the building on fire.^[77]

Reactions

Family and friends

Floyd's girlfriend, Courteney Ross, asked for the community to respond to his death in a way that honors him. She said: "You can't fight fire with fire. Everything just burns, and I've seen it all day – people hate, they're hating, they're hating, they're mad. And he would not want that."^[78]

His cousin and two brothers were interviewed by CNN. His cousin, Tera Brown, criticized the police, saying: "They were supposed to be there to serve and to protect and I didn't see a single one of them lift a finger to do anything to help while he was begging for his life." One of his brothers echoed the sentiment, stating: "They could have tased him; they could have maced him. Instead, they put their knee in his neck and just sat on him and then carried on. They treated him worse than they treat animals."^[79] Floyd's brother, Philonese, called for peace and stated, "everybody has a lot of pain right now, that's why this is happening, I'm tired of seeing black people dying."^[80] Floyd's longtime friend, retired NBA player Stephen Jackson, expressed his anger and sadness following the death, stating that the arrest video "just destroyed me."^[81][82]

Political

Minneapolis city councilor Andrea Jenkins, who represented Ward 8, where the incident occurred, was quoted as saying: "My heart is breaking for the tragic loss of life last night near 38th and Chicago. Our community continues to be traumatized again, and again and again. We must demand answers."^[83]

The mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, stated: "Being black in America should not be a death sentence. For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a black man's neck ... When you hear someone calling for help, you're supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense." The day after Floyd's death, the mayor called the termination of the responding officers "the right call".^[10][8] Two days after Floyd's death, Mayor Frey highlighted the racial nature of Floyd's death, and called for Chauvin to be criminally charged: "If most people, particularly people of color, had done what a police officer did late Monday, they'd already be behind bars. That's why today I'm calling on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to charge the arresting officer in this case."^[84][85] In an interview with CBS that evening, Frey was asked "Do you think that was murder?" He replied, "I do."^[6]

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota's 5th congressional district called for a federal investigation, saying: "It is sickening to watch this black man be killed while helplessly begging for help."^[5] She later added: "The police officer who killed George Floyd should be charged with murder."^[86] Senator Amy Klobuchar reacted on the following day, saying: "We heard his repeated calls for help. We heard him say over and over again that he could not breathe. And now we have seen yet another horrifying and gut wrenching instance of an African American man dying." She called for the declaration on "a complete and thorough outside investigation into what occurred, and those involved in this incident must be held accountable."^[87] However, as a former Hennepin County attorney, she was criticized for declining to press criminal charges against police during her eight years in that office, including against Chauvin; some called for her resignation from the Senate.^[88][89][90] Senator Tina Smith and Governor Tim Walz also called for immediate action.^[5]

President Donald Trump sent his condolences on Twitter, saying he requested the FBI do a thorough investigation, adding: "My heart goes out to George's family and friends. Justice will be served!" Trump also described Floyd's death as "sad and tragic".^[91]

Law enforcement

The local police union expressed support of the officers involved, saying: "The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis will provide full support to the involved officers." They also urged the public to remain calm, saying: "Now is not the time to rush to judgement and immediately condemn our officers."^[92][93] Fraternal Order of Police president Patrick Yoes said that authorities must ensure justice is served in Floyd's death, "whatever the consequences."

A number of police chiefs and chiefs associations from across the country expressed dismay at the treatment of Floyd.^{[94][95][96][97][98]} The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association applauded Chief Medaria Arradondo's swift firing of the officers involved.^[97] The heads of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) as well as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) condemned what was seen on the video.^[94] The MCCA, led by Houston police chief Art Acevedo, said: "The death of Mr. Floyd is deeply disturbing and should be of concern to all Americans. The officers actions are inconsistent with the training and protocols of our profession and MCCA commends Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo for his swift and decisive action to terminate the employment of the officers involved."^[94] The chiefs of police of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Miami, Tucson,^[94] Austin, Round Rock, Texas, the University of Texas at Austin,^[95] Pflugerville, Texas,^[98] Boston,^[99] and Omaha,^[96] as well as a former Seattle chief of police,^[97] have issued statements against Floyd's treatment. The National Police Foundation president said: "These actions, and inaction, jeopardize the gains that have been made through the sacrifices and courage of many."^[94]

Experts on the use of force by police condemned Chauvin's actions. Mylan Masson, a longtime Minneapolis police officer and former director of the Hennepin Technical College's Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Center, which instructs approximately half of Minnesota's police officers, said a form of the technique seen in the video of Floyd's death was taught until at least 2016. He added: "Once the [officer] is in control, then you release. That’s what use of force is: You use it ‘til the threat has stopped."^[97] George Kirkham, a former police officer and professor emeritus at Florida State University's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, said: "It was outrageous, excessive, unreasonable force under the circumstances. We're dealing with a [suspected] property offender. The man was prone on the ground. He was no threat to anyone."^[97]

Institutions

The University of Minnesota announced that it would be limiting ties with the Minneapolis Police Department, and would no longer contract the local police department for assistance at major events.^[100][56]

See also

• Shooting of Jamar Clark by Minneapolis police in 2015
• Shooting of Philando Castile by St. Anthony police in 2016 in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul
• Shooting of Justine Damond by Minneapolis police in 2017

References

External links

• Media related to Death of George Floyd at Wikimedia Commons
• protest footage on YouTube