George Floyd's Actions: Lawful Or Not?

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A video of the incident depicting Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for an extended period attracted widespread outrage, leading to protests and demonstrations against police brutality and racism in policing. While Floyd did have a criminal history, including drug possession, theft, and trespass, it is important to note that he was not resisting arrest during the incident and had already been handcuffed. The focus of the public outcry was on the excessive force used by the police and the racial bias inherent in the US policing system.

George Floyd's criminal history

George Floyd had a criminal history that included multiple arrests and convictions. Between 1997 and 2005, he served eight jail terms on various charges, including drug possession, theft, and trespass.

In 2004, he was convicted of possessing half a gram of crack cocaine based on the sole testimony of police officer Gerald Goines, who was later investigated for falsifying evidence. In April 2021, the district attorney of Harris County, Texas, requested a posthumous pardon for this particular conviction due to Goines' lack of credibility. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended Floyd be pardoned in October 2021 but withdrew their recommendation two months later, citing procedural errors and announcing that they would reconsider.

In 2007, Floyd faced charges for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. According to investigators, he and five other men entered an apartment by impersonating water department workers, held a pistol to a woman's stomach, and searched for items to steal. Floyd was arrested three months later and identified by the victims from a photo array. In 2009, he was sentenced to five years in prison as part of a plea deal and was paroled in January 2013.

In addition to the above, Floyd was stopped by police or charged at least 19 times in his adult life, according to records, friends, and family. Some of these encounters did not result in arrests, while others involved more serious charges that shaped the trajectory of his life.

Floyd's criminal history also included multiple traffic violations and drug-related incidents. In 2019, he was detained by Minneapolis police during a traffic stop and found with a bottle of pain pills. No charges were filed in connection with this incident. In 2020, he lost his job as a delivery driver after being cited for driving without a valid commercial license and being involved in a minor crash.

In total, Floyd was arrested nine times and pleaded guilty to seven charges, including drug possession, theft, aggravated robbery, and illegal trespass. He pleaded no contest to two other charges. He served a total of eight years and nearly eight months in jail and prison for his actions.

The murder of George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd, who worked as a bouncer and truck driver, had lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Floyd's murder occurred after police responded to a call about a man who had allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. When officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng arrived on the scene, Lane pulled out his gun and ordered Floyd to put his hands on the wheel. After a back-and-forth that lasted about 90 seconds, Lane yanked Floyd out of the car and handcuffed him.

As the officers attempted to get Floyd into their vehicle, a struggle ensued, and Floyd, who said he was claustrophobic, refused to enter the police car. During the struggle, Floyd turned his head to address the officers multiple times and told them he couldn't breathe.

When the third and final police car arrived, carrying officers Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin, they joined the struggle to get Floyd into the car. Floyd was pulled through the back seat and onto the street, where he lay face down. All four officers gathered around Floyd, applying pressure to his neck, torso, and legs.

Despite Floyd's pleas that he couldn't breathe, Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, even as Floyd lost consciousness and became unresponsive. According to medical and policing experts, the officers' actions violated policies and turned fatal, compressing Floyd's chest and making it impossible for him to breathe.

Floyd was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital around 9:25 p.m. Preliminary autopsies conducted by the state and Floyd's family ruled his death a homicide.

Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He was found guilty on all three murder and manslaughter charges and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. The other three officers, Lane, Kueng, and Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting murder and later convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights. They were found to have deprived Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable force and to be free from a police officer's deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs.

Floyd's murder sparked outrage and protests against police brutality and racism in policing, not just in the United States but worldwide. It also led to calls for police reform and the introduction of legislation aimed at addressing police misconduct, excessive force, and systemic racial bias.

The trial of Derek Chauvin

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck and back for over nine minutes, fatally asphyxiating him. On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. On June 25, 2021, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Chauvin to 22 and a half years in prison.

Chauvin's trial began in February 2022 and lasted nearly five weeks. Evidence presented at the trial showed that on the day of his death, Floyd had been handcuffed and restrained on his stomach for nine and a half minutes, during which time he pleaded with officers 25 times to let him breathe. As Floyd lost consciousness and a pulse, Chauvin and another officer, Tou Thao, maintained their positions on his body. A third officer, J. Alexander Kueng, also placed his knee on Floyd's lower body for eight minutes and 11 seconds. Even as a fourth officer, Thomas Lane, noted that Floyd was "passing out" and Kueng said he could not find a pulse, none of the officers—all of whom were CPR-certified—did anything to stop Chauvin or render medical aid.

The jury found that the officers had disregarded their training and willfully violated Floyd's constitutional rights. Thao and Kueng failed to intervene to stop Chauvin's use of unlawful force, and all three officers failed to provide aid to Floyd as he suffered a medical emergency.

On December 15, 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty in federal court to violating a federal criminal civil rights statute on two separate occasions: the murder of George Floyd and the assault of a 14-year-old child in 2017. In his plea agreement, Chauvin admitted that he held his left knee across Floyd's neck, back, and shoulder and his right knee on Floyd's back and arm, and that he continued to use force even after Floyd had stopped resisting, talking, and moving, and had lost consciousness and a pulse. Chauvin also admitted that he failed to render medical aid to Floyd, although he was aware that Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) policy required him to provide emergency medical aid, including CPR, to an arrestee who needed it.

On July 7, 2022, Chauvin was sentenced to serve 252 months in prison for depriving Floyd and the 14-year-old child of their constitutional rights. In addition to his federal sentence, Chauvin is serving a concurrent 21-year sentence in an Arizona federal prison for the state-court murder conviction.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

The Act aims to address issues of police misconduct, excessive force, and racial bias in policing. Some of the key provisions of the Act include:

• Granting the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division the power to issue subpoenas to police departments as part of "pattern or practice" investigations into potential bias or misconduct.
• Providing grants to state attorneys general to create independent processes for investigating police misconduct or excessive use of force.
• Establishing a federal registry of police misconduct complaints and disciplinary actions.
• Enhancing accountability for police officers who commit misconduct by restricting qualified immunity and changing the mens rea (intent) element of the federal criminal offense of "deprivation of rights under color of law."
• Requiring federal uniformed police officers and marked federal police vehicles to be equipped with body-worn and dashboard cameras, respectively.
• Restricting the transfer of military equipment to police departments.
• Mandating anti-discrimination policies and training programs for state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding, with a focus on combating racial profiling.
• Prohibiting federal police officers from using chokeholds or carotid holds and requiring state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding to adopt the same prohibition.
• Prohibiting the issuance of no-knock warrants in federal drug investigations and providing incentives for states to enact similar prohibitions.
• Changing the threshold for the permissible use of force by federal law enforcement officers to only when "necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury."
• Mandating that federal officers use deadly force only as a last resort and that de-escalation efforts be attempted. This policy would also be a condition for federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies.

The Act has received support from civil rights groups, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris. However, police unions and organisations representing police officers have opposed the bill, citing concerns about the impact on law enforcement.

The George Floyd Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act

The bill would institute several reforms to police departments nationwide, including mandating that all local, state, and federal law enforcement bodies report data to the Justice Department on the use of deadly force by police officers. It would also provide federal grants to law enforcement agencies that devise new programs for oversight or hiring, such as bringing on more diverse officers and agents.

The bill would also create a federal task force to coordinate the investigation and prosecution of law enforcement agencies, and a set of federal minimum standards for police departments, which do not currently exist.

The bill would also require the Attorney General to perform an initial analysis of existing accreditation standards and methodology developed by law enforcement accreditation organizations nationwide, including national, state, regional, and tribal accreditation organizations. The Attorney General would then recommend the adoption of additional standards that will result in greater community accountability of law enforcement agencies and an increased focus on policing with a guardian mentality.

The bill would also authorize the appropriation of funds for additional expenses relating to the enforcement of certain laws and administrative enforcement by the Department of Justice, as well as for conflict resolution by the Department's Community Relations Service.

Frequently asked questions