On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man died after a white officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck, he pinned him to the pavement while Floyd was in handcuffs. Floyd has lost his job in a restaurant due to the Corona pandemic hit. The interaction was filmed by the Dragon Wok’s security camera and recorded as follows:
On a Monday evening, in May 25, 2020, George Floyd bought a pack of cigarettes at Cup Foods, a convenience store that he frequented, at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A store employee believed the $20 bill used by Floyd was counterfeit. Shortly before 8:00 pm, two Cup Foods attendants walked outside the store and across the street to confront Floyd, who was in the driver’s seat of a blue Mercedes SUV, along with two other people, parked in front of a Dragon Wok restaurant. The employees unsuccessfully demanded the return of the cigarettes. At 8:01 pm, a store employee called 911 and told the dispatcher that Floyd gave them “fake bills” to buy cigarettes, he was “awfully drunk” and “not in control of himself”.
At 8:08 pm, Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers Thomas K. Lane and J. Alexander Kueng arrived at Cup Foods and walked into the store. At 8:09 pm, Lane and Kueng left Cup Foods and walked across the street to Floyd’s SUV. Lane approached Floyd’s SUV, drew his gun, and ordered Floyd to put his hands on the steering wheel, holstering his weapon after Floyd complied. A bystander in a Mercury SUV parked behind Floyd’s SUV began recording the encounter with his phone at 8:10 pm. Following a brief struggle, Lane pulled Floyd from the SUV, handcuffed him, and told him he was being arrested for passing counterfeit currency.
At 8:12 pm, Kueng sat Floyd, still handcuffed, on the sidewalk against the wall in front of the Dragon Wok restaurant. At 8:13 pm, an officer stood Floyd on his feet and walked him across the street to the sidewalk in front of Cup Foods. A Minneapolis Park Police officer arrived in response to Lane and Kueng’s request for assistance, and guarded Floyd’s vehicle and its occupants across the street. Around 8:14 pm, Floyd fell to the ground next to the police cruiser in front of Cup Foods, and officers picked him up and placed him against the cruiser’s door. According to local prosecutors, Floyd turned his head several times to talk to the officers, he told the officers he was claustrophobic, and that he can’t breathe.
At 8:17 pm, a third police cruiser arrived, with MPD officers Derek Michael Chauvin and Tou Thao. Derek had 17 complaints involved in 3 shootings and 1 fatal, which Tou has 6 complaints brutality lawsuit, both of them walked over to assist Lane and Kueng Around 8:18 pm, security footage from Cup Foods shows Kueng struggling with Floyd for at least a minute in the driver’s side backseat while Thao watches.A criminal complaint filed against Chauvin “alleges Floyd refused to enter the car, even after officers moved him from the driver’s side to the passenger’s side. At 8:19 pm, standing on the passenger’s side of the vehicle, Chauvin pulled Floyd through the backseat, from the driver’s side to the passenger’s side, and out of the car, causing Floyd to fall onto the ground, where he lay on the pavement, face down, still in handcuffs. These attracted people around and two people started filming almost simultaneously. The four officers gathered around Floyd, who was faced down on the pavement, Derek’s leg was on Floyd’s neck, and two other officers pinned him down, meanwhile, Thao was standing guarding the event. At 8:20pm, Floyd’s voice was heard for the first time, he says, “I can’t breathe man, please!” The officers told the person filming to walk away, hence the video stopped. The officers called for medical assistance, but Derek’s leg was still on Floyd’s neck, they upgraded the call to emergency medical assistance. By then, another by-stander had started filming from another angle. The video shows that, despite call for medical assistance, Derek kept Floyd pinned down for another 7mins. And Floyd kept shouting “I can’t breathe, please remove the knee on my neck”. They shouted at him to get in the car, he told them he will, but he can’t move. He kept saying he can’t breathe at least 16times to the officers in about 5mins, but Derek never took his knee off Floyd. Even when his eyes were closed and seem unconscious, his knee was still pressed on Floyd’s neck, and apply pressure while he was faced down on a pavement. This combined action is like compressing his chest and making it difficult for him to breath, which can cause suffocation. He stopped moving around 8:27 pm. People around them started shouting, “get off the man”, “he’s even not moving any more,” “check his pulse”. The complaint had it filed that Lane had asked Derek twice if they should roll Floyd over, Derek resisted and said No!
The ambulance finally arrived at about 8:32pm, Derek kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for another whole minute, even when Floyd appeared unresponsive, he only got his leg off, when the medical personnel ask him to. According to the complaint filed against him, Derek kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for the total of 8min 46secs. Floyd got into cardiac arrest, they called for backup, which took another 5mins. He was pronounced dead around 9:25pm from a nearby hospital.
In the days that followed, public outrage grew over what some protesters and lawmakers said is another case of police brutality against a black man. Unrest erupted in Minneapolis, where protesters have set fire to buildings, and in several cities across the country. The police officer was fired and has been charged with third-degree murder. Three other officers also have been fired. Families of Floyd and protesters were angry and refused to be pacified by the mode of punishment, because been fired is not a serious punishment for murder. This made protesters to go on the street, shouting, screaming and with placards (No Justice! No Peace!). They argued that, if these officers get away with this crime, they will never learn not to repeat such, hence, the life of the blacks are in danger. Police officers were rarely charged with crimes for violence against black men, when it happens, juries often don’t convict the officers. This is why the protesters stood their ground for JUSTICE. They believe it will teach people, especially officers to do what is right and what is wrong. After MN Attorney , who after autopsy results and analysis announced that Derek Michael Chauvin has been charged with 2nd decree murder and the other three faces aiding and abetting 2nd degree murder charges. These are very serious charges, charges that you can go to 40years jail for. Though it is not planned murder, it was intentional, because Derek sure knows what he was doing when he put his leg on Floyd’s neck. He is now in the Maximum Prison in Minnesota. People have said they got exactly what they deserved, because it will set example to all other cops out there that no one is above the law, this will at least put a stop to police brutality and racism, and also show the world that nobody is above the law. Quincy, Floyd’s son gave a speech that he is happy that all the officers had been arrested.