George Floyd Dies at the Hands of Minneapolis Police
On Monday, 25 May 2020, George Floyd died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It has since touched off protests and riots- not just in Minneapolis but all around the country. I waited at first to write about this situation as I wanted to gain perspective after the pace of events slowed down. We're a full week on from Floyd's death now, and events have done everything but slow down. It's turned into a full blown national crisis. Clearly I need to be writing about it, for my own perspective on history if no one else's, so I'll start here with the basics. More to follow.
Example news coverage of the basics (in retrospective): "What we know about the events surrounding George Floyd’s death and its aftermath" (Minneapolis Post, 29 May 2020).
Minneapolis police officers approached George Floyd last Monday evening after a complaint from staff at a restaurant that he tried to pass a counterfeit $20 note. Officers found him sitting in his vehicle, parked, and pulled him out of it to the ground. While Floyd was already handcuffed, one police officer knelt on his neck for 5 minutesUPDATE: more than 9 minutes. Floyd protested, "I can't breathe!" and went limp before the officer relented. Three other police officers stood by and did nothing. Horrified onlookers begged the police to act. Staff at the restaurant who called the cops originally were aghast at what was happening. Their manager ostensibly told them, when asked what to do, "Call the cops on the cops."
Floyd's death was sadly just the latest in a line of tragedies for Black men at the hands of police officers- situations where the Black man had either committed no crime or was suspected of only a trivial infraction, but police forced a confrontation and escalated it to the point that the Black man lay dead in the street. See, for example, the deaths of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Fergusson MO, Philando Castille, and Eric Garner- who was killed for allegedly selling $1 of unlicensed cigarettes.
Example news coverage of the basics (in retrospective): "What we know about the events surrounding George Floyd’s death and its aftermath" (Minneapolis Post, 29 May 2020).
Minneapolis police officers approached George Floyd last Monday evening after a complaint from staff at a restaurant that he tried to pass a counterfeit $20 note. Officers found him sitting in his vehicle, parked, and pulled him out of it to the ground. While Floyd was already handcuffed, one police officer knelt on his neck for 5 minutesUPDATE: more than 9 minutes. Floyd protested, "I can't breathe!" and went limp before the officer relented. Three other police officers stood by and did nothing. Horrified onlookers begged the police to act. Staff at the restaurant who called the cops originally were aghast at what was happening. Their manager ostensibly told them, when asked what to do, "Call the cops on the cops."
Floyd's death was sadly just the latest in a line of tragedies for Black men at the hands of police officers- situations where the Black man had either committed no crime or was suspected of only a trivial infraction, but police forced a confrontation and escalated it to the point that the Black man lay dead in the street. See, for example, the deaths of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Fergusson MO, Philando Castille, and Eric Garner- who was killed for allegedly selling $1 of unlicensed cigarettes.