Murder of George Floyd

Murder of George Floyd
Part of police brutality in the United States and racism against African Americans
Police officer Derek Chauvin stares into the camera as he kneels on the neck of George Floyd, who is lying on his stomach on the street
Frame from witness video, showing Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck
LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Coordinates44°56′04″N 93°15′45″W / 44.93433°N 93.26244°W / 44.93433; -93.26244
DateMay 25, 2020; 4 years ago
c. 8:01–9:25 pm CDT (UTC−5)
TargetGeorge Floyd
Attack type
Murder by suffocation, police brutality
VictimGeorge Perry Floyd Jr.
Perpetrators
Verdict
Convictions
Trial
Sentence
  • Federal sentences:
  • Chauvin:
  • 21 years in prison[8][9]
  • Kueng:
  • 3 years in prison[10]
  • Lane:
  • 2+1⁄2 years in prison[11]
  • Thao:
  • 3+1⁄2 years in prison[10]
  • State sentences:
  • Chauvin:
  • 22+1⁄2 years in prison
  • Kueng:
  • 3+1⁄2 years in prison
  • Lane:
  • 3 years in prison[12]
  • Thao:
  • 4+3⁄4 years in prison [13]

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 reported 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]

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]

  1. ^ "Three Former Minneapolis Police Officers Convicted of Federal Civil Rights Violations for Death of George Floyd" (Press release). The United States Department of Justice. February 24, 2022. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  2. ^ McCaskill, Nolan D.; Forgey, Quint (April 20, 2021). "Derek Chauvin convicted of murdering George Floyd". Politico. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  3. ^ Xiong, Chao; Walsh, Paul; Olson, Rochelle (April 21, 2021). "Derek Chauvin convicted of murder, manslaughter in death of George Floyd". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Forliti, Amy. "What were charges against Chauvin in Floyd death?". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Osborne, Mark; Hutchinson, Bill (May 18, 2022). "Former police officer Thomas Lane pleads guilty to manslaughter in killing of George Floyd". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hutchinson 2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Hyatt, Kim; Walsh, Paul (May 2, 2023). "Tou Thao, ex-MPD officer charged in George Floyd's killing, found guilty". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Karnowski, Steve (July 7, 2022). "Chauvin Gets 21 Years for Violating Floyd's Civil Rights". Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Jimenez, Omar (May 4, 2022). "A federal judge accepts Derek Chauvin's plea deal and will sentence him to 20 to 25 years". CNN. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Forliti, Amy (July 27, 2022). "Ex-cops Kueng, Thao sentenced for violating Floyd's rights". Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Montemayor 2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Olson, Rochelle (May 18, 2022). "Ex-MPD officer Thomas Lane pleads guilty to manslaughter charge for role in George Floyd's murder". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Hyatt, Kim (August 7, 2023). "Ex-Minneapolis cop Tou Thao sentenced to nearly 5 years for aiding George Floyd's killing". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  14. ^ McGreal, Chris (April 20, 2021). "Derek Chauvin found guilty of George Floyd's murder". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; Wright, Will (April 19, 2021). "Little has been said about the $20 bill that brought officers to the scene". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022. Nearly a year after Mr. Floyd's death, it remains unclear where the bill came from and whether Mr. Floyd committed the crime that brought police officers to the scene.
  16. ^ a b c "George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life". BBC News. May 30, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  17. ^ Barker, Kim; Eligon, John; Oppel, Richard A. Jr.; Furber, Matt (June 4, 2020). "Officers Charged in George Floyd's Death Not Likely to Present United Front". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. ^ Haworth, Jon; Torres, Ella; Pereira, Ivan (June 3, 2020). "Floyd died of cardiopulmonary arrest, tested positive for COVID-19, autopsy shows". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  19. ^ a b "New police footage shows first complete view of George Floyd's death". New York Post. August 11, 2020. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ Chappell, Bill (June 3, 2020). "Chauvin And 3 Former Officers Face New Charges Over George Floyd's Death". NPR. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Collins 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Thorbecke, Catherine (May 29, 2020). "Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes, complaint says". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  23. ^ Higgins, Tucker; Mangan, Dan (June 3, 2020). "3 more cops charged in George Floyd death, other officer's murder charge upgraded". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  24. ^ Spocchia, Gino (June 15, 2020). "George Floyd: New footage shows officer ignoring onlooker's calls not to let him die". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kaul 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ "Hennepin County Medical Examiner declares George Floyd death homicide". FOX 9. June 1, 2020. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020. The updated report states that on May 25, George Floyd experienced a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference FOX 9 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Arango, Tim; Dewan, Shaila; Eligon, John; Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (April 20, 2021). "Derek Chauvin is found guilty of murdering George Floyd". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  29. ^ "Ex-police officer Derek Chauvin sentenced to over 22 years in jail for George Floyd murder". The Straits Times (Singapore). June 26, 2021. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  30. ^ Mannix, Andy (November 29, 2021). "Former Minneapolis officers should be tried together in federal case, says magistrate judge". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forliti 2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hutchinson 2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Silva, Daniella (February 24, 2022). "3 officers found guilty on federal charges in George Floyd's killing". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hauser 2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ Tumin, Remy; Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (September 21, 2022). "Former Minneapolis Officer Sentenced to Three Years in George Floyd Case". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  36. ^ Hyatt, Kim (October 24, 2022). "Kueng pleads guilty to state charges in George Floyd killing; Thao agrees to let judge decide his case". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  37. ^ Hyatt, Kim (December 9, 2022). "Former Minneapolis officer J. Alexander Kueng sentenced in George Floyd's killing". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  38. ^ Cite error: The named reference Karnowski 2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  39. ^ "Protests across the globe after George Floyd's death". CNN. June 6, 2020. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  40. ^ "George Floyd death: Violence erupts on sixth day of protests". BBC News. June 1, 2020. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).