Minneapolis, June 5: The death of 46-year-old African American man George Floyd in broad daylight has sparked outrage in US and has now spread to other parts of the world. He died in Minneapolis after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer. According to the complaint filed, the defendant had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Floyd was non-responsive. George Floyd Death: What is Second-Degree Murder? How is it Different From First And Third-Degree Murder? Know About The Charge on Former Officer Derek Chauvin.
A week after the murder of African American man George Floyd, a private autopsy conducted on his body has confirmed "asphyxia" as the cause of death. The post-mortem was ordered by the bereaved family which wanted to independently ascertain the exact reason behind his demise. Police are trained that the manner in which Floyd was pinned down, and the type of restraint with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous. Who Was George Floyd? Why Was He Detained? Here's Why the Death of the 46-Year-Old African-American in Minneapolis Sparked Violent Protests in US.
New York Times reconstructed the death of George Floyd on May 25. Based on the security footage, witness videos and official documents. Watch Video
Here's the sequence of events from George Floyd's arrest to his death on May 25:
7:50 pm: The video starts recording from this time. According to the owner of Cup Foods, two men including Floyd used counterfeit currency to purchase items.
7: 55 pm: The employees noticed that the men were still outside the shop in a Blue Mercedes SUV. They went to speak and Floyd was in the driver seat.
8:01 pm: Police were called to report on the forgery incident.
8:08 pm: Two-two officers from the Minneapolis Police Department walked into the store.
8:09 pm: They left the store and walked to the blue SUV Car parked in which Floyd was there. A bystander behind the SUV started filming the exchange between Floyd and the officer.
8:11 pm: Floyd was forced to exit his car and he was handcuffed.
8:12 pm: An officer makes the handcuff Floyd sit against the wall.
8:14 pm: He is then taken near the police vehicle. He appears to be placed against the police car and he falls. Officers put him up.
8: 15 pm: Floyd can be seen on the ground.
8:17 pm: A third squad car arrives, two officers, Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao officer can be seen walking near Floyd.
8:18 pm: According to the video footage, it appears that there is a struggle.
8:20 pm: Derek Chauvin can be seen kneeling on Floyd's neck. He can be heard saying "I Can't Breathe" several times. By this time, several bystanders started protesting and asked the officer to leave the man as Floyd was seen as not moving and responding.
8:27 pm: An ambulance arrived.
8:28 pm: After 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the video recording shows that around this time, Chavin removed his leg from Floyd's neck.
8:29 pm: Floyd was placed on the stretcher and at the same time, the fire department was called. The ambulance arrives infact six minutes after the distress call. Once he was inside the ambulance, Floyd's hands were freed from the handcuff.
8:30 pm: The ambulance left at 8:30.
9:25 pm: According to reports, Floyd died at Hennepin healthcare emergency room.
The post-mortem report revealed that blood-flow to Floyd's brain was acutely restricted due to the intense pressure applied by cop Derek Chauvin on his neck. Recently, Chauvin's charges were upgraded in the death of Gorge Floyd after a public outcry against the original charges filed in the May 25 incident. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison upgraded the charges against Chauvin to include second-degree murder. The officer was earlier charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2020 01:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).