Murder of George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, while being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department, knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds after he was handcuffed and lying face down. Two other police officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd. A fourth police officer, Tou Thao, prevented bystanders from interfering.

While handcuffed and prior to being placed on the ground, Floyd had exhibited signs of anxiety and complained about being unable to breathe. After being restrained he became more distressed, complaining of breathing difficulties and the knee on his neck, and expressing fear of imminent death. After several minutes Floyd stopped speaking. For a further two minutes, he lay motionless and Officer Kueng found no pulse when urged to check. Despite this, Chauvin ignored pleas from bystanders to lift his knee until told to do so by paramedics.

The following day, after videos made by witnesses and security cameras became public, all four officers were dismissed. Two autopsies, and one autopsy review, found Floyd's death to be a homicide. Chauvin was later convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Kueng, Lane, and Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Chauvin's trial began on March 8, 2021, and concluded on April 20, 2021, while the trial of the other three officers is scheduled to begin on March 7, 2022. On March 12, 2021, Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Floyd's family.

Floyd's murder led to worldwide protests against police brutality, police racism, and lack of police accountability. In early June, the Minneapolis City Council voted an intent to restructure the police department as a "new community-based system of public safety". However, the city council's proposal, which became subject to an indefinite review by the Minneapolis City Charter Commission, failed to make the 2020 general ballot. The Minneapolis Police Chief cancelled contract negotiations with the police union and announced plans to bring in outside experts to examine how the union contract can be restructured to provide transparency and "flexibility for true reform".

People involved

George Floyd

George Perry Floyd Jr. was a black American born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and raised in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. In 2014, he moved to the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. He resided in the nearby suburb of St. Louis Park, and was a frequent customer at the Cup Foods convenience store in Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis.

Derek Chauvin

At the time of Floyd's death, Derek Michael Chauvin, a white American, was a 44-year-old police officer in the Minneapolis Police Department. He had served in the department since 2001. Chauvin and Floyd sometimes worked overlapping shifts as security guards for a local nightclub, but the club's former owner was unsure of the extent to which they knew each other.

Tou Thao

Tou Thao, a Hmong-American, was age 34 at the time of Floyd's death and started as a part-time community service officer in 2008. He graduated from the police academy in 2009. After a two-year layoff, he resumed work for the police in 2012. Six complaints had been filed against Thao, none resulting in disciplinary action. In 2014, a man claimed Thao handcuffed him without cause, threw him to the ground, and punched, kicked, and kneed him; the man's teeth were broken and he was hospitalized. The resulting lawsuit was settled for $25,000.

J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane

James Alexander Kueng (age 26 at the time of Floyd's death) and Thomas Kiernan Lane (age 37 at the time of Floyd's death) were licensed as law enforcement officers in August 2019. They had trained together. Chauvin was the superior officer responsible for the majority of Kueng's field training. On May 3, 2020, video of an arrest incident in Minneapolis showed Chauvin, Kueng, Lane, and another officer roughly detaining a man on the ground as bystanders pleaded for the officers to show mercy. Kueng and Lane were with Chauvin as the day was part of their field training. The man, whom they detained wrongfully, said he had trouble breathing, and the incident was later said to be similar to the arrest of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Kueng and Lane were in their first week as Minneapolis police officers when Floyd was killed.

Arrest and murder

On the evening of May 25, 2020, at sometime before 8:00 pm, Floyd purchased cigarettes at Cup Foods, a grocery store at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis. A store employee believed Floyd had paid with a counterfeit $20 bill. Employees of the store approached Floyd while he was in his vehicle and demanded that Floyd return the cigarettes; he refused. A store employee called the police to report that Floyd had passed "fake bills", was "awfully drunk", and "not in control of himself". The interaction between Floyd and the employees was recorded by the restaurant's security camera.

At 8:08, Kueng and Lane arrived, briefly entering Cup Foods before crossing the street to Floyd's SUV. Lane tapped his flashlight on the window, startling Floyd. He asked Floyd to show his hands, and tapped again when he did not obey. Floyd apologized as he opened the car door. Lane instructed him three more times to show his hands. Six seconds after the door opened, he drew his gun and ordered Floyd to show his hands. When Floyd complied, Lane holstered his weapon. Someone parked behind Floyd's SUV began recording a video at 8:10. Following a brief struggle, Lane pulled Floyd from the SUV and handcuffed him. At 8:12, Kueng sat Floyd on the sidewalk against the wall in front of the restaurant. Lane asked Floyd if he is "on something right now", and Floyd replied "No, nothing". Kueng told Floyd he was acting "real erratic" and Floyd said that he was scared. Kueng asked Floyd about foam around his mouth, to which Floyd responded that he had been "hooping" earlier. Floyd then said he was calming down, and remarked, "I'm feeling better now."

At 8:13, Kueng and Lane told Floyd he was under arrest and walked him to their police car across the street. Floyd fell to the ground next to the car; the officers picked him up and placed him against the car's door. Floyd told the officers that he was not resisting, but that he was recovering from COVID-19, that he was claustrophobic and had anxiety, and that he did not want to sit in the car. While Kueng and Lane attempted to put him in the car, Floyd begged them not to, repeatedly saying "I can't breathe" and offering to lie on the ground instead. A Minneapolis Park Police officer arrived and guarded Floyd's vehicle (across the street by the restaurant) and the two people who had been in it with Floyd.

At 8:17, Chauvin and Thao arrived in a third police car joining Kueng and Lane with Chauvin assuming command. He asked if Floyd was going to jail, and Kueng replied that he was arrested for forgery. Floyd said "I can't fucking breathe" twice. Around 8:18, security footage from Cup Foods shows Kueng struggling with Floyd for at least a minute in the driver side backseat while Thao watches. According to The New York Times, at 8:19, Chauvin pulled Floyd across the backseat from the driver side to the passenger side. Then, according to NPR, Floyd exited the vehicle, either pulled out by police or pushing himself out. Still handcuffed, he fell to the pavement.

Trial of Chauvin

Chauvin's trial commenced in Minneapolis on March 8, 2021, in Hennepin County District Court. Opening statements occurred on March 29, 2021, and closing arguments on April 19, 2021.

On April 20, 2021, the jury found Chauvin guilty of all charges, including second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He the first white Minnesota police officer to be convicted of murdering a black person. It was only the second time an officer has been convicted of murder in Minnesota, the first being the third-degree murder conviction of Somali-American officer Mohamed Noor in the shooting of Justine Damond, a white woman. Following Chauvin's conviction, Judge Cahill revoked his bail and Chauvin was taken back into police custody due to flight risks and the dangers of publicity that this case has brought.

Sentencing is due to take place eight weeks after the verdict. On May 12, 2021, Judge Cahill allowed for the prosecution to seek a greater prison sentence than the 12.5-year state guideline after finding that Chauvin treated Floyd "with particular cruelty."

Trial of Kueng, Lane, and Thao

On June 10, 2020, Lane was released on bail; his attorney asserted that he warned Chauvin of the danger of severe harm to Floyd, and that doing so was all that was required under Minneapolis police regulations at the time. On June 19, Kueng became the second charged officer to be released on bail. Thao then followed suit on July 4.

Kueng, Lane, and Thao will all stand trial together, beginning on March 7, 2022. The three former officers were originally scheduled to stand trial in August 2021, but their trial was delayed to allow the federal civil rights case against the four officers, including Chauvin, to proceed first.

Memorials, protests, and other reactions

The area near the location where Floyd was murdered became a makeshift memorial throughout May 26, with many placards paying tribute to him and referencing the Black Lives Matter movement. As the day progressed, more people came to demonstrate against Floyd's death. Hundreds of people, then marched to the 3rd Precinct of the Minneapolis Police. Participants used posters and slogans with phrases such as "Justice for George", "I can't breathe", and "Black Lives Matter". On September 18, the Minneapolis City Council approved designating the section of Chicago Avenue between 37th and 39th Streets as George Perry Floyd Jr. Place, with a marker at the intersection with 38th Street where the incident took place. The intersection has been closed and occupied by demonstrators who said they won't leave until their demands regarding anti-racism and property tax are met.

Unrest began in local protests in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area before quickly, within a few days, spreading nationwide and in over 60 countries internationally supporting Black Lives Matter. Over 2,000 cities in the US have seen demonstrations as of June 13. While the majority of protests have been peaceful, demonstrations in some cities descended into riots and looting, with more being marked by street skirmishes and significant police brutality, notably against peaceful protesters and reporters. At least 200 cities in the U.S. had imposed curfews by June 3, while more than 30 states and Washington, D.C, activated over 62,000 National Guard personnel due to the mass unrest.

The protests were initially peaceful, but later there was vandalism of stores; at the 3rd Precinct police station windows were broken and fires set. Police in riot gear used tear gas, flash grenades, rubber bullets and smoke bombs, and some protesters threw rocks at the police. The media highlighted the apparent differences in aggression between the police response to these protests versus the more restrained response to the 2020 United States anti-lockdown protests featuring gun-wielding white protesters. This sentiment also spread on social media by groups such as Black Lives Matter.

While peaceful protests continued, others again became violent after sundown, with the pattern repeating for several days. As of June 9, the Star Tribune estimated 570 businesses in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area had been vandalized or destroyed, including 67 destroyed by fire.

Following the rioting, a nighttime curfew in Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Dakota County was established on May 29. 500 Minnesota National Guard soldiers were later dispatched to the area to enforce the curfew, but to little effect, with about 1,000 protesters being able to march peacefully on Interstate 35 well into curfew.

A public memorial, with Al Sharpton delivering the eulogy, was held June 4 at North Central University in Minneapolis. A public viewing and a family memorial was held in Raeford, North Carolina on June 6, near Floyd's hometown. Floyd's family held a public memorial in Houston on June 8, and a private service on June 9. The family said professional boxer Floyd Mayweather paid for the services. Floyd's body was on public view on June 8 in his hometown of Houston. Former Vice President and the 2020 Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, met with the Floyd family privately and gave a video message at the funeral. Floyd is buried next to his mother in Pearland, Texas.

Mass protests demanding justice for George Floyd, in some cases also to demonstrate against issues with police brutality in their own countries, took place in over 2,000 cities in the US and around the world, including New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; Toronto; Mashhad; Milan; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Des Moines; Houston; Louisville; Memphis; Charlotte, North Carolina; Oakland; Portland, Oregon; San Jose; Seattle; Boston; outside the White House in Washington; outside Chauvin's summer home in Windermere, Florida; and in many other locations. On May 30, 12 states called up the National Guard, and at least 12 major cities imposed curfews that weekend. By June 14, protests had extended into a third week after Floyd's death in many cities, accompanied by calls to reform and defund police departments throughout the United States.

The length of time that Chauvin was originally reported to have had his knee on Floyd's neck, 8:46, was widely commemorated as a "moment of silence" to honor Floyd. It was also used in chants, protest signs, and messages, as were the words "I can't breathe".

Numerous statues and monuments honoring persons or events associated with slavery and racism were vandalized, removed, or destroyed during the protests in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Darnella Frazier, the 17-year-old who filmed Floyd's restraint on her cell phone, received the 2020 PEN/Benenson Courage Award from PEN America. The award was presented to her at an awards ceremony in December 2020 by film director Spike Lee. PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said that Frazier's act sparked a "bold movement demanding an end to systemic anti-black racism and violence at the hands of police."

Conspiracy theories regarding the nature of Floyd's death and subsequent protests began spreading soon after the murder. Winnie Heartstrong, a Republican candidate for Congress, asserted that the footage of Floyd's murder was "created using deepfake technology – digital composites of two or more real persons", that the "real" Floyd had died in 2016, and that actors had been substituted in the roles of Floyd and Chauvin. Misinformation was spread about the presence of Antifa at protests after the murder, including assertions that they had been given a "training manual" on tactics to cause unrest by Democrats; some, including Texan agricultural commissioner Sid Miller, claimed that the protests were funded by George Soros. According to Zignal Labs, 873,000 pieces of misinformation were linked to the protests; 575,800 of those mentioned Antifa. The Los Angeles Times said on June 22, 2020, that some theories had been "amplified by a growing number of people on the far right, including some Republican leaders" but that "some Republicans (had) begun pushing back" on false claims and those spreading rumors.

Some pundits, such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, said before Chauvin's trial that Floyd had died of drug-related complications or an overdose. Cynthia Brehm, the head of the Republican Party in Bexar County, Texas, said that the murder was a "staged event." Other conspiracy theories include the assertion that Darnella Frazier was paid to film the arrest, that those involved were crisis actors and a nearby building to the location of the murder was a Freemason lodge involved in the killing. During the initial stages of the protests, then-president Donald Trump tweeted that "ANTIFA led anarchists" were the causes of unrest. He also pledged, in other tweets, to have Antifa designated as a "terrorist organization", and utilized the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts", an expression associated with Miami police chief Walter Headley, who said, in 1967,] that his department "didn't mind being accused of police brutality."