Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd (nonfiction)
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer.[12] Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill.[13] Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street.[14][15][16] 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 prior to Floyd being put in handcuffs.[17] A fourth police officer, Tou Thao, prevented bystanders from intervening.[18]
Prior to being placed on the ground, Floyd had exhibited signs of anxiety, complaining about having claustrophobia, and being unable to breathe.[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.[14] After several minutes, Floyd stopped speaking.[14] For the last few minutes, he lay motionless and Officer Kueng found no pulse when urged to check.[20][21] Despite this, Chauvin ignored pleas from bystanders to lift his knee from Floyd's neck.[22]
The following day, after videos made by witnesses and security cameras became public, all four officers were fired.[23] Two autopsies, and one autopsy review, found Floyd's death to be a homicide.[24][25] On March 12, 2021, Minneapolis agreed to pay $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][26] and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on June 25.[27] All four officers faced federal civil rights charges.[28] In December 2021, Chauvin pled guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights by using unreasonable force and ignoring his serious medical distress.[29][30] The other three officers were also later convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights.[31] Lane pleaded guilty in May 2022 to a state charge for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter[32] and on September 21, 2022 was sentenced to 3 years in prison to be served concurrently with his 2 1/2 year federal sentence.[33] Kueng and Thao are scheduled to be tried on state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on October 24, 2022.[34][35]
Floyd's murder led to worldwide protests against police brutality, police racism, and lack of police accountability.
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Nonfiction cross-reference
External links
- Murder of George Floyd @ Wikipedia