George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died after being arrested by police outside a grocery store in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May. The incident, captured on video, shows white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes while he was pinned to the floor. Transcripts of police bodycam footage reveal Mr Floyd said over 20 times that he could not breathe as he was restrained.
The events leading to Mr Floyd's death unfolded within 30 minutes. Earlier that evening, Mr Floyd bought a pack of cigarettes from Cup Foods using a $20 bill that a store employee believed to be counterfeit. The employee reported the incident to police, stating that Mr Floyd appeared 'drunk' and 'not in control of himself'. Officers Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng arrived at the scene at around 20:08.
Bodycam footage shows Mr Floyd cooperating initially, apologising as he was handcuffed. However, when officers attempted to place him in the squad car, he told them he was claustrophobic and fell to the ground. Mr Chauvin then arrived and, during an attempt to put Mr Floyd in the car, pulled him away, causing him to fall. Mr Chauvin placed his left knee on Mr Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, despite Mr Floyd repeatedly pleading that he could not breathe and calling for his mother.
Witnesses filmed the incident, and a female bystander shouted, 'His nose is bleeding, come on now.' Mr Floyd's final words included, 'Can't believe this, man. Mom, love you. Love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead.' The officer's response was, 'Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.'
