George Floyd

George Floyd
Born	George Perry Floyd Jr. 14 10, 1973
Birthplace	Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Known for	Circumstances of his death and the subsequent global protests against police brutality
Children	5

George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African American man whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, became a defining moment in the modern movement against police brutality and racial injustice in the United States. Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and raised in Houston, Texas, Floyd was a former high school and college athlete who later became involved in community mentorship and ministry in Houston's Third Ward before relocating to the Minneapolis area in 2014. During an arrest prompted by a store clerk's allegation that Floyd had used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck and back for over nine minutes while Floyd lay face-down and handcuffed on the street. Floyd's repeated pleas of "I can't breathe" were captured on bystander video, and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. His death triggered a wave of protests that swept across the United States and spread to countries around the world, making Floyd's name and his final words a rallying cry in the struggle against systemic racism and excessive use of force by law enforcement.

Early Life

George Perry Floyd Jr. was born on October 14, 1973, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He moved to Houston, Texas, as a young child and was raised in the city's Third Ward, a historically African American neighborhood on the south side of Houston. The Third Ward was a close-knit community, but it was also an area marked by poverty, limited economic opportunity, and high rates of crime and violence.

Floyd attended Jack Yates High School in Houston, where he was a standout athlete in both football and basketball. Known by friends and family by the nickname "Big Floyd" due to his imposing physical stature — he stood approximately 6 feet 6 inches tall — Floyd was a prominent figure on the school's athletic teams. He played on the school's varsity football team as a tight end, and also played power forward on the basketball team. His athletic ability earned him a scholarship to attend South Florida Community College (later known as South Florida State College), where he played football. He also spent time at Texas A&M University–Kingsville, where he continued playing football.

After his time in college, Floyd returned to Houston's Third Ward. Friends and family members described him as a community figure who was well known and liked in the neighborhood. Despite his ties to his community, Floyd faced significant personal challenges. Between 1997 and 2005, he was convicted of eight crimes, including drug and theft charges. In 2007, he was charged with aggravated robbery in connection with a home invasion. Floyd accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to five years in prison. He served approximately four years before being paroled in 2013.

Career

Community Mentorship and Ministry in Houston

After his release from prison in 2013, Floyd became involved in community and religious activities in Houston's Third Ward. He worked with his local church community and served as a mentor, seeking to discourage violence among young people in the neighborhood. Floyd participated in ministry activities and was described by members of his church community as a "person of peace" who sought to be a positive influence. He also used social media to post anti-violence videos, calling on members of his community to put down guns and resolve conflicts peacefully.

Those who knew Floyd during this period described him as someone who was making a genuine effort to rebuild his life after years of difficulty and incarceration. He was active in outreach efforts in the Third Ward and was regarded by church leaders and community members as someone committed to helping others avoid the cycle of crime and imprisonment that he himself had experienced.

Move to Minneapolis

In 2014, Floyd relocated to the Minneapolis, Minnesota, metropolitan area, settling in the nearby suburb of St. Louis Park. The move was motivated by a desire for a fresh start and new opportunities away from the environment that had contributed to his earlier troubles. In Minneapolis, Floyd found work as a truck driver and also worked as a security guard and bouncer at a local restaurant and nightclub. He was known to coworkers and acquaintances in the area as a friendly and approachable person.

Floyd's life in Minneapolis was disrupted in early 2020 by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic shutdowns and restrictions associated with the pandemic caused Floyd to lose both of his jobs, leaving him in a precarious financial situation in the months leading up to his death.

Death

Events of May 25, 2020

On the evening of May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers responded to a call from a store clerk at Cup Foods, a convenience store at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, who reported that a customer had attempted to use a suspected counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. Officers located Floyd in a vehicle near the store and attempted to arrest him. During the encounter, Floyd was handcuffed and placed face-down on the street.

Officer Derek Chauvin, one of four officers who responded to the scene, pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck and back. Chauvin maintained this position for approximately nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, according to evidence later presented at trial. While pinned to the ground, Floyd repeatedly told officers that he could not breathe. His words, "I can't breathe," were captured on video recorded by bystanders who witnessed the arrest and pleaded with officers to release the pressure on Floyd's neck. Floyd also called out for his deceased mother during the encounter. He eventually became unresponsive.

Emergency medical technicians who arrived at the scene transported Floyd to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office ruled Floyd's death a homicide, with the cause of death listed as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression."

The three other officers present during the incident were Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao. Lane and Kueng assisted in restraining Floyd, while Thao stood nearby and prevented bystanders from intervening. All four officers were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department the day after Floyd's death.

Bystander Video and Public Response

The arrest and Floyd's death were captured in extensive bystander video footage, which was shared widely on social media within hours of the incident. The footage showed Chauvin maintaining his knee on Floyd's neck while Floyd pleaded for his life, and it quickly drew national and international attention. The graphic nature of the video and Floyd's repeated pleas of "I can't breathe" provoked an immediate and intense public reaction.

Within days of Floyd's death, protests erupted in Minneapolis and rapidly spread to cities across the United States and then internationally. The demonstrations, which were among the largest in American history, called for accountability in Floyd's death and broader reforms to address police brutality and systemic racism, particularly as it affected Black Americans. While the majority of protests were peaceful, some were accompanied by property destruction, arson, and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement. The Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct building, located near the site of Floyd's death, was overrun and set on fire by protesters on May 28, 2020.

Floyd's phrase "I can't breathe" became a central slogan of the protest movement. The phrase had also been the last words of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by a New York City police officer, and it came to symbolize the broader issue of police violence against Black Americans.

Funeral and Memorial Services

Multiple memorial and funeral services were held for Floyd in the weeks following his death. Services took place in Minneapolis, in Raeford, North Carolina (near his birthplace of Fayetteville), and in Houston, Texas, where he had grown up.

The final funeral service was held on June 9, 2020, at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston. The service was attended by Floyd's family, friends, community members, and public figures, including civil rights leaders and politicians. Floyd was buried at Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, Texas, next to his mother, Larcenia "Cissy" Floyd.

Criminal Trial and Legal Proceedings

Trial of Derek Chauvin

Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in connection with Floyd's death. His trial began on March 29, 2021, in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis and was broadcast live, drawing massive public attention.

The prosecution presented evidence including the bystander video footage, body camera footage from the officers, testimony from eyewitnesses, and expert testimony from medical professionals, use-of-force experts, and law enforcement officials. Medical experts testified that Floyd died from asphyxia caused by Chauvin's restraint and that the manner of death was homicide.

On April 20, 2021, the jury found Chauvin guilty on all three counts: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The verdict was announced to a nation that had been bracing for the outcome, with businesses in Minneapolis and other cities having boarded up windows in anticipation of potential unrest.

On June 25, 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison, a sentence that exceeded the standard guidelines for the charges under Minnesota law. The presiding judge, Peter Cahill, cited aggravating factors in imposing the enhanced sentence.

Trial of the Other Officers

The three other officers present during Floyd's arrest — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao — faced separate legal proceedings. In February 2022, all three were found guilty in federal court of violating George Floyd's civil rights.

Civil Settlement

In March 2021, prior to the start of Chauvin's criminal trial, the City of Minneapolis reached a settlement with Floyd's family in a wrongful death lawsuit. The city agreed to pay $27 million, which at the time was described as one of the largest pre-trial settlements in a civil rights wrongful death case in United States history.

Personal Life

Floyd was the father of five children. At the time of his death, he was in a relationship with Courteney Ross, whom he had been dating since 2017. Floyd was known in his community by the nickname "Big Floyd," a reference to his tall stature.

Floyd had a close relationship with his mother, Larcenia "Cissy" Floyd, whose death preceded his own. During his final moments on May 25, 2020, Floyd called out for his mother, a detail that resonated deeply with the public when the bystander video was released. He was buried next to her at Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, Texas.

Floyd was described by those who knew him as a community-oriented person. In Houston's Third Ward, he was remembered for his efforts to mentor young people and for his involvement with his church. After moving to Minneapolis, he maintained connections with friends and family in Houston while building a new life in Minnesota.

Legacy

George Floyd's death and the global protests it inspired had a significant and lasting impact on public discourse surrounding policing, racial justice, and systemic inequality in the United States and internationally. The intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, was informally renamed "George Floyd Square" by community members and became a memorial site and gathering place.

The protests that followed Floyd's death led to renewed legislative efforts at the local, state, and federal levels to reform policing practices. The Minneapolis City Council voted to disband the city's police department in the immediate aftermath of the protests, though this measure was ultimately not implemented in its original form. Numerous other cities and states enacted or proposed legislation restricting the use of chokeholds, requiring body cameras, and establishing new accountability mechanisms for law enforcement officers.

Floyd's case also had a broader cultural impact. His name, his image, and the phrase "I can't breathe" became symbols of the movement against police brutality, appearing in murals, artwork, and demonstrations around the world. The legal team that represented Floyd's family in the wrongful death case against the City of Minneapolis continued to take on high-profile civil rights cases in subsequent years, including the case of Renee Good, who was killed during an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis in early 2026.

The mutual aid networks that were established in Minneapolis in the aftermath of Floyd's death continued to operate in subsequent years, being reactivated in response to other community crises, including immigration enforcement actions in the Twin Cities area.

The comparison between Floyd's death and subsequent incidents involving law enforcement in Minneapolis underscored the ongoing significance of his case in the national conversation about policing and accountability. In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice's handling of the Renee Good case was contrasted with its response to Floyd's death in 2020, when the department had launched an investigation that ultimately resulted in federal civil rights charges against the officers involved.