Murder of George Floyd
2020 police murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer.[14] Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk alleged that he made a purchase using a counterfeit $20 bill.[15] Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street.[16][17][18] Two other police officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd. Lane had also pointed a gun at Floyd's head before Floyd was handcuffed.[19] A fourth police officer, Tou Thao, prevented bystanders from intervening.[20]
Murder of George Floyd | |
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Part of police brutality in the United States and racism against African Americans | |
Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
Coordinates | 44.93433°N 93.26244°W / 44.93433; -93.26244 |
Date | May 25, 2020; 3 years ago c. 8:01–9:25 pm CDT (UTC−5) |
Attack type | Murder by suffocation, police brutality |
Victim | George Perry Floyd Jr. |
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Before being placed on the ground, Floyd had exhibited signs of anxiety, complaining about having claustrophobia, and being unable to breathe.[21][19] After being restrained, he became more distressed, still complaining of breathing difficulties, of the knee on his neck, and of fear of imminent death.[16] After several minutes, Floyd stopped speaking.[16] For the last few minutes, he lay motionless, and Kueng found no pulse when urged to check.[22][23] Despite this, Chauvin ignored bystanders' pleas to lift his knee from Floyd's neck.[24] The next day, after videos recorded by witnesses and security cameras became public, the Minneapolis Police Department fired all four officers.[25] Two autopsies, and one autopsy review, found Floyd's death to be a homicide.[26][27]
On March 12, 2021, Minneapolis agreed to pay US$27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Floyd's family. On April 20, Chauvin was convicted of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter,[4][28] and on June 25 he was sentenced to 22+1⁄2 years in prison.[29] All four officers faced federal civil rights charges.[30] In December 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights by using unreasonable force and ignoring his serious medical distress.[31][32] The other three officers were also later convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights.[33] Lane pleaded guilty in May 2022 to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter[34] and was sentenced on September 21, 2022, to three years in prison to be served concurrently with his federal sentence of 2+1⁄2 years.[35] Kueng pleaded guilty on October 24, 2022, to the state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter and was sentenced to 3+1⁄2 years in prison, to be served concurrently with his federal sentence.[36][37] Thao waived his right to a jury trial on the state charge in lieu of a review of the evidence and a determination by a judge.[38] He was found guilty of aiding and abetting manslaughter in a written verdict delivered on May 2, 2023, and he was sentenced to 4+3⁄4 years in prison.[7][13]
Floyd's murder led to worldwide protests against police brutality, police racism, and lack of police accountability.[39][40]