June 9, 2020
Civil Rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton gave a fiery sermon at George Floyd’s funeral.
“This was not just a tragedy, Sharpton said. “it was a crime.”
Sharpton promised to be there for the family throughout the legal process to follow and urged everyone in the audience and the US to do the same.
He denounced “wickedness in high places,” and gave examples of injustices toward black people such as NFL injustice against Colin Kaepernick. Earlier in the week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized for his organization’s failure to allow players to protest peacefully.
“We, the National Football League, believe Black Lives Matter,” Goodell said in a video message.
Sharpton also called out President Donald Trump for his failure to acknowledge the wrongness of how Floyd’s death occurred.
George Floyd’s funeral held in Houston Tx in a service attended by family, friends, politicians, celebrities, and members of the community.
Mourners and well-wishers and onlookers lined up the streets of Houston to view the funeral procession. In the last leg, his casket was moved from the hearse into a horse-drawn carriage into the Houston Memorial Gardens
He will be buried next to his mother
The funeral was broadcasted live for more than 5 hours by several major TV networks. Former Vice President Joe Biden addressed the mourners in a video message broadcasted to the church.
Mr. George Floyd’s killing, May 25th, on a pavement under the knee of a craven Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was so brutal it has shocked even die-hard conservatives.
Protests against his death continue across the US with no end in sight and drawing Americans of all races.
Because of the avalanche of information following Mr. Floyd’s death, we have decided to update this post every day with the latest relevant information regarding the protests, arrests, police action, and progress in seeking the way forward in solving the issue of police brutality toward African Americans.
June 1, 2020, Family Autopsy Report
Findings from a private autopsy report conducted on behalf of the Floyd family revealed his death was due to asphyxiation, from prolonged knee compression on the neck and being restrained on the back by a second officer.
Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump said the compression on the neck cut off blood supply to his brain and the weight applied on his back made it hard for him to breathe. Crump is seeking first-degree murder for Chauvin.
The private autopsy findings differ from the Medical Examiner findings listed in the criminal complaint against Chauvin which also lists underlying health issues and potential intoxicants. See the AP report here.
The reports also found Floyd had tested for COVID-19.
See The Hennepin County Medical Examiner summary report here.
ME report confirms the initial thought of experts in use of force that the hold was a recipe for compressional asphyxia induced heart attack. https://t.co/qnUosTQaPS pic.twitter.com/qvC4nCZ73i
— Tom Lyden (@LydenFOX9) June 1, 2020
June 3, 2020: Charges for all four officers
All four officers involved Mr. Floyd’s killing are officially charged. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison upgraded charges for Officer Chauvin, who used his knee to restrain Mr. Floyd on the ground for almost 10 minutes, from third-degree to a second-degree murder charge.
“About nine days ago, the world watched Floyd utter his very last words — ‘I can’t breathe’ — as he pled for his life,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference Wednesday according to an NPR report. “The world heard Floyd call out for his mama and cried out, ‘Don’t kill me.’ ”
Chauvin’s counterparts, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane are charged with aiding and abetting for second-degree murder and for manslaughter in the second-degree.
Keung and Lane held Mr. Floyd’s back and legs while Chauvin kneed his neck. Thao played the role of keeping the citizens at bay by standing between his counterparts and the citizens.
News about the charges for the remaining three officers was received with cheers among protesters at the scene of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.