# George Floyd *Minneapolis man who died during a police arrest on May 25, 2020; subject of state and federal prosecutions, a city settlement and a state human-rights charge.* George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) died on May 25, 2020, in [[Minneapolis]] while being restrained by city police officers. The [[United States Department of Justice]] later obtained a federal civil-rights indictment of the four former officers involved.[^1] A store employee had reported that Floyd passed a counterfeit $20 bill. Officer [[Derek Chauvin]] then held his knee on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds while Floyd lay handcuffed and face down.[^2] The Hennepin County [[medical examiner]] classified the death as a homicide.[^3] On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty on two murder counts and a manslaughter count. On June 25, 2021, he received a sentence of 22 and a half years. The three officers who had been with him were later convicted of civil-rights violations.[^4] Protests started in Minneapolis the next day and reached all 50 states and other countries.[^5] On March 12, 2021, during jury selection for Chauvin's trial, the [[City of Minneapolis]] announced a $27 million settlement with Floyd's family.[^6] The [[Minnesota Department of Human Rights]] filed a civil-rights charge against the City over its police department in 2020.[^7] The project's master history records that the state Department of Human Rights was created by Laws 1967 ch. 897, which Governor LeVander approved on May 25, 1967. It marks the shared calendar date with Floyd's death as coincidence. The same history notes that Floyd died 21 days before the U.S. Supreme Court decided *[[Bostock v. Clayton County]]* on June 15, 2020.[^8][^9] The United States' January 14, 2026 Title VII complaint against the State of Minnesota quotes *Bostock*: "Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit."[^10] [[Keith Ellison]] was appointed in 2020 to lead the prosecution of the officers, and he is listed as counsel for the State in that case.[^11][^12] ## Who Floyd was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was raised in Houston, Texas, where his family lived in the Cuney Homes public-housing complex in the Third Ward.[^13] He finished Yates High School in 1993. He then played college football and basketball, first at South Florida Community College and then at Texas A&M University–Kingsville, which he left without completing a degree.[^13] Floyd had eight convictions between 1997 and 2005. In a 2007 aggravated-robbery case he accepted a plea bargain and served four years in prison.[^14] One 2004 drug-possession conviction rested on testimony by police officer Gerald Goines, who was later investigated for a pattern of falsifying evidence. The Harris County district attorney asked for a posthumous pardon in April 2021. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended one in October 2021, then withdrew the recommendation in December 2021, citing "procedural errors and lack of compliance with board rules".[^14] Floyd was paroled in 2013, mentored in his church community and posted anti-violence videos online. He moved to the Minneapolis area in 2014, lived in St. Louis Park, and worked as a truck driver and bouncer. In 2020 he lost both jobs during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].[^4] The project's time table names the three officers present with Chauvin as [[Tou Thao]], [[J. Alexander Kueng]] and [[Thomas Lane]].[^15] All four were later named in the federal indictment.[^1] The project's time table records that Governor [[Tim Walz]] appointed Attorney General Keith Ellison as lead prosecutor on May 26, 2020, bypassing [[Hennepin County Attorney]] [[Michael O. Freeman]].[^11] Freeman held that office for twenty-four years across two tenures. On September 11, 2020, Judge [[Peter Cahill]] disqualified Freeman and three of his staff from the [[George Floyd cases]] after staff met with the medical examiner.[^16] ## What Officers took Floyd out of a car in which he sat with two passengers and detained him. Police allege that he struggled. On bodycam footage he said repeatedly that he could not breathe, before he was pinned to the ground.[^2] While Chauvin knelt on him, two other officers held Floyd down and a fourth kept bystanders back. For the final two minutes Floyd was motionless and had no pulse, and Chauvin kept his knee in place as emergency medical technicians arrived.[^2] *The [[New York Times]]* called the demonstrations that followed "the largest protests in the United States since the Civil Rights era."[^5] The medical examiner found that Floyd's heart stopped during the restraint. The examiner classified the death as a homicide caused by "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression". The examination also named underlying health conditions as a factor. It said fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use may have raised the likelihood of death.[^3] A second autopsy, commissioned by Floyd's family, also found a homicide. It attributed the death to asphyxia from neck and back compression and ruled out any contribution from underlying medical problems.[^2] The project's time table records two further points. Chauvin had 17 prior civilian complaints in 19 years of service, and none produced discipline affecting his employment. The neck restraint was listed as an authorized technique in the Minneapolis Police Department's use-of-force policy. The pack carries no primary police-department record for either point.[^15] ## When - May 25, 2020: Floyd dies during the arrest in Minneapolis.[^1] - May 26, 2020: Ellison is appointed lead prosecutor, per the project's time table.[^11] - June 1, 2020: the Minnesota Department of Human Rights files its charge against the City of Minneapolis, per the project's at-issue record. The project's time table dates the charge to July 2020.[^7] - June 4, 2020: a memorial service is held in Minneapolis at North Central University, with Al Sharpton giving the eulogy.[^17][^5] - June 6 and June 8–9, 2020: services are held in North Carolina and then in Houston.[^5][^18] - September 11, 2020: Freeman and three staff are disqualified from the Floyd cases.[^16] - March 12, 2021: Minneapolis announces the $27 million settlement.[^6] - April 20 and June 25, 2021: Chauvin's verdict and sentence.[^4] - April 27, 2022: the Department of Human Rights issues its probable-cause finding.[^7] - 2022: Chauvin pleads guilty to a federal civil-rights charge. The project's time table dates the plea to May 25, 2022.[^19] - 2023: a consent decree follows the Department of Human Rights charge, per the project's time table.[^7] - May 21, 2026: MPR News reports that the City of Minneapolis is moving ahead with development at George Floyd Square.[^20] ## Where The arrest took place at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South in Minneapolis, outside the Cup Foods grocery store.[^15][^2] Development at George Floyd Square was still under way in 2026.[^20] Floyd was buried beside his mother in Pearland, Texas.[^5] ## Why The call to police was based on a Cup Foods employee's suspicion that Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill.[^2] The record shows that stated basis. It does not establish the officers' reasoning beyond their charged conduct. ## How - A 17-year-old bystander filmed the restraint. Bodycam footage also recorded Floyd's statements.[^15][^2] - The Department of Justice indicted the four former officers on federal civil-rights charges.[^1] - Chauvin pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law.[^19] ## How much - $27 million: the City of Minneapolis settlement with Floyd's family, March 12, 2021.[^6] - More than $1 billion: insured losses from the protests. This was the first civil disorder to pass that figure.[^5] - $120 million: a donation by Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin, made during the protests and divided among Morehouse College, Spelman College and the United Negro College Fund.[^5] ## How many - 9 minutes 29 seconds: the duration of the neck restraint.[^2] - 4: former officers named in the federal indictment.[^1] - 8: Floyd's convictions between 1997 and 2005.[^14] - 17: prior civilian complaints against Chauvin over 19 years, per the project's time table.[^15] - 50: states in which protests took place.[^5] - 23 months: the interval from the Department of Human Rights charge to its probable-cause finding.[^7] ## In the at-issue record At-issue entry 003 records Freeman's twenty-four years in the county attorney's office and his September 11, 2020 disqualification by Judge Cahill.[^16] At-issue entry 034 records the June 1, 2020 filing of the Department of Human Rights charge and the April 27, 2022 probable-cause finding.[^7] Both entries are paired with the March 2025 White House action *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*.[^21] ## In the Minnesota record ### What On January 14, 2026, the Department of Justice issued release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*.[^22] Elsewhere, federal law has used the word "regime" for foreign governments, as in the [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998, which refers to "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein." The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described.[^23] The complaint, *[[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]* (D. Minn., filed January 14, 2026), is brought under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. It cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times.[^24] It sets the statute's stated purposes beside its required procedures. According to the complaint, [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.19]] exists to "eliminate the effects of past and present discrimination, intended or unintended, on the basis of protected group status," and is aimed at "assur[ing] that positions in the executive branch of the civil service are equally accessible to all qualified persons."[^25] The complaint also cites § 43A.191, subd. 3(c). Under that provision, where a protected group is underutilized, a hiring manager must "justify its nonaffirmative action hires" on a form that "explain[s] the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate."[^26] The complaint attaches a policy of the [[Minnesota Department of Human Services]], No. 4100.250. Its stated purpose is "to ensure DHS meets affirmative action responsibilities to comply with state statutes." It bars an offer to a non-underrepresented candidate in such a job category until the department's Equal Opportunity and Access Division approves a hiring justification.[^27] The complaint alleges that Minnesota "identifies no prior or present discrimination to justify its race- and sex-conscious employment policies."[^28] The legal predicate runs through two federal statutes. Title VII was enacted as Public Law 88-352 on July 2, 1964.[^29] Public Law 92-261, the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972]], amended Title VII's definition of "person" to include "governments, governmental agencies, political subdivisions."[^30] On that basis, the complaint alleges that the State is a "person" and an "employer" under Title VII. It also requests a three-judge court.[^31] Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance. That certification entitles the United States to expedited review and direct appeal to the Supreme Court.[^22] In 2025, *[[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]]* held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs."[^32] The pack shows no ruling in the case; it is pending. ### Who The complaint is signed for the United States by U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. The civil cover sheet lists Attorney General Keith Ellison and Assistant Attorney General Nick Pladson as counsel for the State.[^12] Ellison had been appointed in 2020 to lead the State's prosecution in Floyd's death.[^11] Bondi made the general-public-importance certification.[^22] ### When - May 25, 1967: Laws 1967 ch. 897 creates the Department of Human Rights, approved by Governor LeVander, per the project's master history.[^8] - June 3, 2020: the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] decides *[[Maslowski v. Prospect Funding Partners]]*. The project's time table describes the decision as unanimous and as abolishing the state's 123-year-old champerty doctrine, on the view that "modern rules of professional responsibility and civil procedure sufficiently address" the historical concerns.[^33] - June 15, 2020: *Bostock v. Clayton County* is decided 6–3, holding that Title VII's bar on sex discrimination covers sexual orientation and gender identity. It is cited in the 2026 complaint at 590 U.S. 644.[^9][^10] - 2025: *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services* is decided, 605 U.S. 303.[^32] - January 14, 2026: the United States files its complaint and issues release No. 26-21.[^22][^24] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Four Former Minneapolis Police Officers Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Violations* (2021) — federal indictment of the four former officers for the May 25, 2020 death. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-former-minneapolis-police-officers-indicted-federal-civil-rights-violations-fatal [^2]: Wikipedia, *George Floyd*, section "Murder" (rev. 1380294351, retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — counterfeit-bill call, Cup Foods, restraint duration and positions, bodycam statements, second autopsy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd [^3]: Hennepin County Medical Examiner, *Autopsy report, George Floyd* (2020) — manner and cause of death, contributing conditions. https://www.hennepin.us/-/media/hennepinus/your-government/projects-initiatives/documents/floyd/floyd-autopsy-6320.pdf [^4]: Wikipedia, *George Floyd*, lead section (rev. 1380294351) — verdict of April 20, 2021, sentence of June 25, 2021, other officers' convictions, parole, move to Minneapolis area, employment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd [^5]: Wikipedia, *George Floyd*, section "Legacy" (rev. 1380294351) — protests, *New York Times* description, insured losses, memorial dates, burial, Hastings–Quillin donation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd [^6]: NPR, *Minneapolis Reaches $27 Million Settlement With Family Of George Floyd* (Mar. 12, 2021) — settlement amount and date, during Chauvin jury selection. https://www.npr.org/2021/03/12/976525200/minneapolis-reaches-27-million-settlement-with-family-of-george-floyd [^7]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Press releases* — 2020 charge against the City of Minneapolis over its police department. The project's time table (TL-0890, TL-0902) dates the charge to July 2020 and records a 2023 consent decree; at-issue entry AI-034, drawing on agency and docket sources, gives a filing date of June 1, 2020 and a probable-cause finding on April 27, 2022. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/press-releases/ [^8]: How Minnesota Got Here, *merged master, footnoted* (validated passage; note 12) — Laws 1967 chs. 896–897 approved May 25, 1967; Floyd's death 21 days before *Bostock*; shared date marked as coincidence. The pack carries no URL for this passage. [^9]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Bostock v. Clayton County*, 590 U.S. 644 (June 15, 2020) — decision date and Title VII holding. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/590/17-1618/ [^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint*, *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026), ¶¶ 7–10 — quotation of *Bostock*. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^11]: CBS News, *Keith Ellison to lead George Floyd case prosecution* (2020), as recorded in project time table row TL-0895 — appointment of Ellison by Walz, dated May 26, 2020, bypassing Freeman. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keith-ellison-george-floyd-case-prosecution/ [^12]: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, *Complaint*, Doc. 1 at 17, and *Civil Cover Sheet*, Doc. 1-3, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (Jan. 14, 2026) — signatories for the United States; Keith Ellison and Nick Pladson listed as the State's attorneys. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^13]: Wikipedia, *George Floyd*, section "Early life and education" (rev. 1380294351) — birthplace, Houston upbringing, schooling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd [^14]: Wikipedia, *George Floyd*, section "Adult life" (rev. 1380294351) — convictions 1997–2005, 2007 plea, Goines testimony, pardon request and Texas board withdrawal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd [^15]: How Minnesota Got Here, *Time Table* rows TL-0881 and TL-0894 (citing Wikipedia, *Murder of George Floyd*) — location, officers present, bystander video, Chauvin's complaint record, policy status of the neck restraint. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_George_Floyd [^16]: How Minnesota Got Here, *At-issue entry AI-003* (source: Freeman Apex Dossier §III.d; record sources en.wikipedia.org and lrl.mn.gov) — Freeman's tenure; disqualification by Judge Cahill on Sept. 11, 2020. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^17]: KARE 11, *Floyd's memorial service in Minneapolis* (June 2020) — memorial service at North Central University. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/george-floyd/george-floyd-memorial-service-thursday-north-central-university-minneapolis/89-310a2eb0-f9dc-47d4-8e67-3971f574c327 [^18]: Houston Public Media, *George Floyd Laid To Rest After Two Days Of Houston Memorials* (June 9, 2020) — Houston services. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/houston/2020/06/09/375541/watch-live-george-floyd-to-be-laid-to-rest-in-houston/ [^19]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Charge* — guilty plea to deprivation of rights under color of law; the date May 25, 2022 comes from project time table row TL-0916. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-minneapolis-police-officer-derek-chauvin-pleads-guilty-federal-civil-rights-charge [^20]: MPR News, *City of Minneapolis moves ahead with development at George Floyd Square* (May 21, 2026) — status of the square in 2026. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/05/21/city-minneapolis-george-floyd-square-agape-peoples-way [^21]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (Mar. 2025) — anchor paired with at-issue entries AI-003 and AI-034. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^22]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, Press Release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026; updated Jan. 20, 2026) — title, filing, Bondi certification and its effect. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^23]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 — statutory use of "regime"; the Minnesota finding is the project's catalogue finding (How Minnesota Got Here, note 40). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^24]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint*, *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII basis; § 43A.191 cited eight times. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^25]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Complaint*, No. 0:26-cv-00273, ¶¶ 12, 20 (Jan. 14, 2026) — stated purposes of Minn. Stat. § 43A.19 as quoted. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^26]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Complaint*, No. 0:26-cv-00273, ¶ 33 (Jan. 14, 2026) — Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, subd. 3(c) justification requirement. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^27]: Minnesota Department of Human Services, Equal Opportunity and Access Division, *Hiring Justification*, Policy No. 4100.250 (effective Aug. 12, 2025), filed as Doc. 1-2 in No. 0:26-cv-00273 — stated purpose and pre-offer approval rule. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^28]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Complaint*, No. 0:26-cv-00273, ¶ 54 (Jan. 14, 2026) — allegation that no prior or present discrimination is identified. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^29]: U.S. Congress, *Civil Rights Act of 1964*, Pub. L. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (July 2, 1964) — enactment of Title VII. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-78/pdf/STATUTE-78-Pg241.pdf [^30]: U.S. Congress, *Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972*, Pub. L. 92-261, 86 Stat. 103 (Mar. 24, 1972) — extension of Title VII's "person" definition to governments. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-86/pdf/STATUTE-86-Pg103.pdf [^31]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Complaint*, No. 0:26-cv-00273, ¶¶ 17–19 (Jan. 14, 2026) — three-judge court request; State as "person" and "employer". https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^32]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — Title VII disparate-treatment holding. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf [^33]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *Maslowski v. Prospect Funding Partners LLC*, No. A19-1535 (June 3, 2020), as described in project time table row TL-0899 — abolition of the champerty doctrine. https://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/supreme-court/2020/a19-1535.html