On May 25, 2020, former Officer Derek Michael Chauvin killed George Floyd after suffocating him with his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Floyd’s killing started global protests in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Chauvin is now set to be on trial. This case is like the Rodney King case and the Trial of the Chicago 7 of this century. Trial has not yet begun, but obstacles already reared their ugly heads: it was difficult to select a jury when the case has been so publicized already for so long. Nevertheless, the legal process will go on in the murder trial.
Why was George Floyd killed?
Floyd went to a convenience store to buy cigarettes, and used a $20 bill. The Arab-American store owner suspected it was fake, so his black clerk called the police. The police came and forced Floyd to the ground despite his repeated pleas he was claustrophobic, scared and uncomfortable. Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, as Floyd pleaded he couldn’t breathe. One of the last things Floyd said was “Mama. Tell my kids I love them. I’m dead.”
The 46 year old died that day as a result of Chauvin’s actions.
Floyd died from an overdose, right?
Well, no. The autopsy didn’t conclude Floyd died from drug overdose. It concluded he had fentanyl in his system, but so does everyone else, actually. One autopsy concluded he had high fentanyl levels but that ultimately he died from heart complications brought on by Chauvin suffocating him. Another concluded he died from suffocation. Neither conclude drugs were the cause of his death.
So, what happened?
This incident gave new life to the Civil Rights Movement as people around the world rallied in support of BLM. Riots did occur, though a majority of the damage occurred from rioters and looters who swept in AFTER the actual protesters. It forced companies to begin looking at racist imagery from their products or services, though many times it was things that frankly made little sense to remove. Asian Americans began looking at their own communities’ racism against black people: the store that called the cops was Arab-American. One of the officers with Chauvin was Hmong American (prominent Asian Americans such as Hasan Minhaj played a significant role in this).
Now, we wait and watch the trial.
The judge, the jury, Chauvin and Floyd’s family all know...
”The whole world is watching!”
