George Floyd killing was the death of a 46-year-old African American man in police custody on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The death sparked widespread outrage after cellphone video captured by witnesses showed a white police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes before his death.
Police officers arrested Floyd on suspicion of using counterfeit money to pay for cigarettes. Floyd was eventually handcuffed face-down on the ground. Video footage showed officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck as Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” and then became unresponsive. Floyd eventually died. After an autopsy, his death was ruled a homicide.
Four officers were present at the scene. All were fired. Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. State prosecutors later added a second-degree murder charge and charged the other three officers with aiding and abetting (assisting) murder. Chauvin’s trial began in March 2021. In April, a jury found Chauvin guilty of all three charges. Chauvin was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. In December, Chauvin pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s constitutional rights. In the plea, he acknowledged that he had used unreasonable force in his position as a police officer. In July 2022, Chauvin received a sentence of 21 years in federal prison.
In February 2022, the other three officers involved were convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil right to medical care. Two of them were found guilty of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin. Later that year, two officers pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In a 2023 trial, a third officer was convicted of the same state charges.
The George Floyd killing occurred amid a number of other high-profile killings of African Americans at the hands of police officers and others. It sparked widespread protests in 2020 against racism and police brutality, the excessive or unnecessary use of force by police.
See also Black Lives Matter.
