The death of an African American man in Police custody has erupted protests in US and taken the social media world by storm.
George Floyd, a forty-six-year-old man died after he was taken under custody by police in a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A video of him being brutally pinned down to floor surfaced on the internet. The officer could be seen kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck in the video.
Mr Chauvin, the officer, has been charged with murder and his wife recently filed for divorce.
What were the key events that happened within the last 30 minutes of his life that led to his death?
As per BBC’s report, a timeline has been collated based on accounts from witnesses, video footages and official statements.
A report was filed on the evening of 25 May due to a fake $20 bill. He bought a pack of cigarettes from Cup Foods, a grocery store.
The employee believed that the bill he used was counterfeit and hence reported it to the police. The incident was reported by a teenage employee who happened to follow the protocol. He made a call to 911 at 20:01 and told the police that he appeared to be drunk and “not in control of himself,” according to the transcript.
My Floyd has been a resident of Minneapolis for several years but he is a native Texas. He was working as a bouncer in the city before the pandemic jolted the world and forced us to follow strict lockdown orders.
“Mr Floyd was a regular at Cup Foods. He was a friendly face, a pleasant customer who never caused any trouble, “the store owner Mike Abumayyaleh told NBC.
Subsequently, at around 20:08, two police officers arrived to the spot. Mr Floyd was reportedly seated with two other people in a car parked around the corner.
One of the officers, Thomas Lane, approached the car, pulled out the gun and ordered Mr Floyd to show his hands. However, prosecutors still haven’t mentioned why it was important to draw the gun.
Prosecutors said Mr Lane "put his hands on Mr Floyd, and pulled him out of the car". Mr Floyd "actively resisted being handcuffed". Once handcuffed, though, Mr Floyd became compliant while Mr Lane explained he was being arrested for "passing counterfeit currency".
At 20:14 Mr Floyd "stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told the officers he was claustrophobic", according to the report.
Mr Chauvin arrived at the scene and attempted to put Mr Floyd in the police vehicle. It was at this point that Mr Chauvin pulled Mr Floyd out of the passenger side, made him to fall to the ground.
The witnesses started to film videos when Mr Chauvin started placing his left knee between his head and neck.
Mr Floyd could be seen shouting “I can’t Breathe,” and he could be seen pleading to the officer to let go of him.
“About six minutes into that period, Mr Floyd became non-responsive. In videos of the incident, this was when Mr Floyd fell silent, as bystanders urged the officers to check his pulse. Kueng did just that, checking Mr Floyd's right wrist, but couldn't find one. Yet, the officers did not move. At 20:27, Mr Chauvin removed his knee from Mr Floyd's neck. Motionless, Mr Floyd was rolled on to a gurney and taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center in an ambulance,” BBC cited in its report.
He was pronounced dead almost an hour later.
"The way he died was senseless. He begged for his life. He pleaded for his life. When you try so hard to put faith in this system, a system that you know isn't designed for you, when you constantly seek justice by lawful means and you can't get it, you begin to take the law into your own hands, Christopher Harris, one of Mr Floyd’s closest friends, whom he spoke to on the night before his death, told the media.
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