As I am sure you all know, the death of George Floyd has sparked a surge of Black Lives Matter protests across the country and world. Those who have read my work before know that I typically like to go into my thoughts about the cases I cover, however, I think the world has had enough white people giving their opinions on the murder of black people by police. So instead, I will only be relaying the facts of who he was, and how he died. Beyond that I will be providing links to information provided by black journalists, scholars, and activists pertaining to what you can do to help.
While I do have faith in my research abilities, due to the nature of this case I am ready and willing to accept any critiques or corrections that need to be made. Feel free to send me a message detailing any concerns you may have.
For convenience I will be marking each section with a dividing line, so if you would prefer to skip any triggering or upsetting material please feel free to do so.
Who he was.
George Floyd, known as just "Floyd" to his friends and family, grew up in Houston's Third Ward in Texas. He played football and basketball in high school, and once he graduated he was recruited to play basketball for South Florida State College. George Walker, his coach, told CNN that he was a good athlete, and Walker's wife, Gloria, said he was just a "fun person to be around."
After 1995 Floyd returned to Houston and began to rap under the name Big Floyd. As a rapper he was part of Houston based Screwed Up Click, headed by influential DJ and rapper DJ Screw, where he appeared on tracks such as "So Tired of Ballin", "Sittin on Top of the World", and others.
In 2014 Floyd moved to Minnesota to work and drive trucks. He aimed to create "better opportunities for himself" according to friend and former NBA player Stephen Jackson. While in Minnesota he worked as security at Conga Latin Bistro in Minneapolis, where he became friends with the owner Jovanni Thunstrom. According to Thunstrom, he was "loved by all [her] employees and [her] customers." He would help Thunstrom clean up after the bar closed.
Floyd was also a father to two girls, one 6 and one 22. Rose Hudson, the mother of Floyd's 22 year old daughter, told CNN that their daughter now has a toddler of her own. Floyd had not met his granddaughter. "I will just let her know what a great guy he was," Hudson told CNN, "He was a good father to his girls. I just have memories, that's all I can give her, memories of her grandfather."
How he was killed.
At approximately 8 PM on May 25th, George Floyd bought a packet of cigarettes from a convenience store called Cup Foods in Minneapolis. After Floyd and his friends departed the store and went to their vehicle across the street, several minutes later two employees followed to confront Floyd about an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill that he had used to purchase the cigarettes, and asked him to return them. He refused, and the employees returned to the store. Four minutes later the employees called 911 and reported the alleged counterfeit bill, and claimed that Floyd was "awfully drunk" and "not in control of himself". Several minutes later the first officers arrived.
The first two officers, Thomas K. Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, approached the vehicle that Floyd and his companions were in and began to speak with them. Then Lane pulled his weapon and asked Floyd to put his hands on the steering wheel. After Floyd complied, Lane then holstered his weapon. Seconds later Lane forcibly pulled Floyd out of the vehicle, and both officers moved in to cuff Floyd's hands behind his back. The officers then moved Floyd and had him sit against the wall of a nearby restaurant. Based on video surveillance Floyd already appeared to be in distress.
Six minutes into the arrest the officers moved Floyd across the street to where they had parked their vehicle, and once at the vehicle, video footage shows Floyd falling to the ground. Floyd told officers that he was claustrophobic, and did not want to get into the vehicle. He began to exclaim that he could not breathe.
Three minutes after moving Floyd to the police vehicle, officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao arrived on the scene. At the time, Chauvin had 17 complaints filed against him, and Thao had 6. In the video surveillance provided by Cup Foods, Chauvin moved towards the vehicle that Floyd was being put in and began to be involved in the attempt. As Kueng struggled to put Floyd in the vehicle, Chauvin moved to the passenger side of the car and pulled Floyd across the seat and onto the street. As Floyd was laying on the pavement, face down, two witnesses began filming the encounter almost simultaneously.
In the footage, it is clear that while Floyd was laying on the pavement, Chauvin began applying pressure onto the back of his neck, Kueng to his back, and Lane on his legs. Thao stood close by and watched as it happened. As they continued to apply pressure, Floyd began to cry out that he couldn't breathe. Lane then seemed to tell one of the witnesses to walk away. After this the officers radioed a code 2 for non-emergency medical assistance and reported an injury to Floyd's mouth. A minute later the call was upgraded to a code 3. Bystander footage from another angle showed that even though the officers had called for emergency medical assistance, Chauvin continued to apply pressure to Floyd's neck for another 7 minutes. In this video an unidentified voice told Floyd to get in the car, and Floyd responded that he would, but he couldn't move. It is unclear if Lane and Kueng were still applying pressure at this time.
In both videos provided by bystanders, Floyd is heard telling officers that he can't breath at least 16 times within five minutes.
Floyd then became unresponsive, and as bystanders pleaded with police to get off of him, Thao blocked bystanders from assisting and Chauvin pulled out a can of his mace and moved to spray it. Chauvin continued to apply pressure to Floyds neck while looking down at him. Minneapolis police procedure states that an officer can only use this technique if a suspect is actively resisting arrest, and many other police departments across the country have banned this move entirely.
While waiting for medical assistance the officers refrained from providing Floyd with any medical assistance, and bystanders began to demand that they check his pulse. Lane asked Chauvin twice if they should roll Floyd to his side, a standard technique used in first aid, however Chauvin refused to do so each time.
20 minutes into the arrest and ambulance arrived, and EMT's went in to check Floyd's pulse. Chauvin continued to apply pressure to Floyd's neck, and only removed his knee once the EMT's on site told him to. The EMT's then loaded Floyd onto the ambulance and left the scene, most likely due to the forming crowd, and then called for additional medical assistance from the fire department. When the fire department arrived on the scene, the police officers gave "no clear info on Floyd or his whereabouts" according to a fire department incident report. As the fire department tried to determine Floyd's location, Floyd began to go into cardiac arrest while in the ambulance. Once his location was determined, it took the fire department five minutes to reach Floyd.
He was pronounced dead at a local hospital at approximately 9:25 PM.
All four officers have been fired from their positions at the Minneapolis Police Department, and Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder.
An autopsy performed by the Hennepin County medical examiners officer determined that Floyd's cause of death was "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression," along with fentanyl and methamphetamine use, though the office did not specify how much was allegedly in his system.
An independent autopsy, conducted by doctors hired by Floyd's family, determined that the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation.
State and Federal offices, including the FBI, are currently conducting investigations into Floyd's death.
What you can do to help.
Below I've provided links to various organizations dedicated to helping and uplifting black people in the United States, information on other recent instances of violence against black people, and sources where you can learn more about the fight for racial equality and the fight against police violence in the United States.
In finding these resources I have striven to provide organizations and information predominantly authored or created by black writers, artists, scholars, or activists, however not all sources fit into this category. If you have further resources that are authored by black creators, please feel free to send me a message and I can research them further.
Donate to funds and organizations dedicated to helping black people in the United States, and further research organizations that you would like to donate to:
Find effective ways to protest police violence in your community:
Keep yourself informed and educated on other instances of violence against black people across the country:
Ahmaud Arbery (Killed February 23 of this year)
Breonna Taylor (Killed March 13 of this year)
Tony McDade (Killed May 27 of this year)
I encourage you to further research beyond these victims and sources.
Research and educate yourself on the historical touchstones of how black people have fought for civil rights, racial equality, and an end to police brutality in United States history:
I would like to thank my sources:
Commenti