George Floyd: Lawbreaker Or Victim Of Police Brutality?

George Floyd was an African-American man who was killed by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020. The incident began when a store clerk suspected that Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill, and the police were called. During the arrest, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck and back for over nine minutes, resulting in his death. While Floyd had a criminal record, including convictions for drug possession, theft, and aggravated robbery, his killing brought attention to police brutality and racial injustice in the United States, sparking protests worldwide and leading to changes aimed at improving diversity and combating inequity.

Drug possession

Between 1997 and 2005, George Floyd was convicted of eight crimes, including drug possession. In 2004, he was convicted of possessing half a gram of crack cocaine, based on the sole testimony of police officer Gerald Goines. Goines was later investigated for a pattern of falsifying evidence, and in April 2021, the district attorney of Harris County, Texas, requested a posthumous pardon for Floyd in this case. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended a pardon in October 2021 but withdrew it two months later, citing procedural errors and announcing that it would reconsider.

Floyd's struggles with drug addiction were well-documented. In 2019, he was detained by Minneapolis police during a traffic stop and found with a bottle of pain pills. He told the police that he did not sell the pills and that they were related to his own addiction. No charges were filed in connection with this incident.

In March 2020, Floyd was hospitalized after overdosing on drugs. Two months later, he was accused of paying with a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store, which led to his arrest and murder by police officer Derek Chauvin. While the autopsy report noted that Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, medical examiners and independent experts testified that these substances were not the cause of his death. They ruled that the cause of death was homicide due to "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression".

Armed robbery

In 2007, George Floyd was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. According to investigators, he entered an apartment by impersonating a water department worker and barged in with five other men. He then held a pistol to a woman's stomach and searched for items to steal.

Floyd was arrested three months later during a traffic stop, and the victims of the robbery identified him 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.

Floyd's most serious prison stint came after he pleaded guilty to participating in the aggravated robbery. The woman told police that she was unsure whether Floyd was the culprit, and Floyd maintained his innocence to his friends, saying that he did not think he would get a fair trial. Facing the possibility of a 40-year prison sentence if convicted, he accepted the plea deal that sent him to prison for five years. During his time in prison, his claustrophobia worsened.

After his release, Floyd became more involved with his religious community, serving as a mentor to young men and posting anti-violence videos on social media. He also delivered meals to senior citizens and volunteered with various projects, such as the Angel By Nature Foundation, a charity founded by rapper Trae tha Truth.

Aggravated robbery

In 2007, George Floyd was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. According to investigators, Floyd entered an apartment by impersonating a water department worker and barging in with five other men. He then held a pistol to a woman's stomach and searched for items to steal.

Floyd was arrested three months later during a traffic stop, and the victims of the robbery identified him 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.

Floyd's most serious prison stint came after he pleaded guilty to participating in the aggravated robbery. The woman who was robbed told police that she was unsure whether Floyd was the culprit, and Floyd maintained his innocence to his friends, stating that he did not think he would receive a fair trial. Facing the possibility of a 40-year prison sentence if convicted, he accepted a plea deal that sent him to prison for five years.

Theft

Between 1997 and 2005, George Floyd was convicted of eight crimes, including theft. He was arrested a total of nine times during this period, mostly on drug and theft charges.

Floyd's first arrest was on August 2, 1997, when he was almost 23 years old. He was sentenced to about six months in jail for delivering less than one gram of cocaine to someone else.

In 1998, Floyd was charged with theft on two separate occasions (September 25 and December 9) and sentenced to a total of 10 months and 10 days in jail.

Floyd was also arrested and charged with theft in 2002 and 2005. In 2002, he was found to have less than one gram of cocaine on him and was sentenced to about 30 months in jail. In 2005, he was again charged with possession of less than one gram of cocaine and sentenced to jail.

In addition to these theft and drug charges, Floyd was also arrested and charged with failure to identify himself to a police officer in 2001 and criminal trespassing in 2003.

Floyd's most serious conviction was for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in 2007. According to investigators, he and five other men forced their way into a woman's home, held a pistol to her stomach, and searched for items to steal. Floyd was identified by the victims from a photo array and sentenced to five years in prison as part of a plea deal. He was paroled in January 2013.

Trespass

Between 1997 and 2005, George Floyd was convicted of eight crimes, including one count of illegal trespass. According to public records, he was arrested nine times in Harris County, Texas, where he lived most of his life.

Floyd's contact with the police began when he was a child and continued until the day he died in Minneapolis. Police were present when he played basketball with his siblings at the Cuney Homes housing project, when he walked home from school, and when he went on late-night snack runs to the store. They stopped his car and threw him to the ground. They were also present when his family was preparing for their grandfather's funeral, surrounding his mother's home.

Floyd was incarcerated in state jail months after his friend Travis Cains claimed that they were harassed by police during a trip to the corner store. Officers detained them on suspicion of driving a stolen car and threw their pint of ice cream on the ground. The officers' suspicion was unfounded, Cains said.

Floyd was charged with holding a gun to a man's head and demanding his keys and wallet. He was also charged with theft from a person, which was part of a plea deal to reduce the charge from aggravated robbery.

The constant presence of police in Floyd's life meant that minor violations, such as trespassing, led to jail time. Drug addiction and mental health problems resulted in felony convictions and a lifetime of indigence instead of treatment or diversion programs.

Floyd's life orbited around police encounters. He would spend days in jail on minor charges such as trespassing or failing to identify himself to police, then make bail and plead out.

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