The George Floyd Incident: How Did it Happen?


The video playlist of the Derek Chauvin trial beginning on March 8, 2021 – April 20, 2021

NOTE: “Full body camera videos are included at the end of this article – Thao, Kueng, Lane”

It was a warm spring night, Memorial Day May 25, 2020, when George Floyd arrived at the corner of East 38th St and Chicago Ave in Minneapolis in what is called the Powderhorn district around 7:35 pm.  Floyd was accompanied by two companions.   The purpose of the stop was ostensibly to purchase items and to return an item previously purchased at the Cup Foods convenience store on the corner of East 38th and Chicago.  The real purpose is still unknown.  Floyd and his companions decide to enter store and attempt to make purchases with counterfeit $20 bills.  The time was 7:45 pm.

7:34 pm

George Floyd and his companion, Morries Hall, leave the SUV and enter the Cup Foods store.  In the store Floyd encounters Shawanda Hall and speaks with her.  Floyd purchases a pack of Newport menthol cigarettes at the tobacco counter and pays with a fake $20 bill. Hall makes no purchase.  Hall had attempted to make a purchase several hours earlier with a similar fake $20 bill that was rejected immediately by the clerk.  Floyd exits the store after his purchase.  Hall had exited previously. The clerk suspected the bill was fake, but allowed Floyd to make the purchase.  He informs his manager of the incident.  Floyd and Hall cross the street and return to the SUV and re-enter it.  Shawanda Hill accompanies them, allegedly requesting a ride home.

The store manager requests the clerk at the tobacco counter to scan the bill in his cash register that had been proffered by Floyd. They found it to be fake and pulled it.  It was later given to the police at the scene. 

7:50 pm

Two of the store employees (Chris Martin and Martin Walter) exit the store and cross the street to confront the occupants of the SUV and request the return of the merchandise Floyd left the store with.  One employee (Martin) speaks to Morries Hall in the front passenger seat.  The employee asks that Floyd return the cigarettes and the change he had received.  Floyd and Hall both refuses. After a short conversation, the two employees return to the store.  Shawanda Hill remain in the SUV. Morries Hall is sitting in the front passenger seat sideways, partially out of the vehicle. 

They make no attempt to leave the scene.  

7:54 pm

 After a short pause, three employees again (Omar Camara, Chris Martin and a female), leave the store, and cross the street to confront Floyd and his companions.  One male employee speaks directly to Floyd, seated in the driver’s seat, then to Morries Hall.  He asks Floyd to return the merchandise and the change he had received and he would return the fake money and not report the incident.  Floyd again refuses  The female employee takes down the license plate (Mn BRJ 026, VIN 4JGAB54E01A288014) of the SUV and they return to the store.  The SUV is a 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML320, blue in color.  After the rejection, the employees walk back to the Cup Foods store.

8:00 pm

Once inside the store of the employees, Chris Martin, is told by the store manager to call 911 and report the incident:

  911 Call Transcript Cup Foods

The clerk reported that three people had come into the store and two of them attempted paid for merchandise with fake $20 bills.  The clerk recognized the bill as fake. He also reported that the men and that Floyd appeared to be under the influence of some substance or very drunk and was “not acting right”.  At the time of the call they reported Floyd to be sitting on the hood of a blue SUV parked on Chicago Ave. The 911 operator asked for a description of the man told them to watch the vehicle and report back if it left the scene.  He reported that Floyd was currently sitting on the hood of the SUV.  A squad car was dispatched to the Cup Foods store.

8:06 pm

Two Minneapolis police officers, Thomas Lane and J.A. Kueng arrive in squad car #320 and park on the corner of Chicago Ave and  East 38th St. E.  They enter Cup Foods and speak with an employee. The employee shows them the fake bill. He then points out the blue SUV still parked across the street.  Floyd had sat on the hood of the SUV for a short time after leaving the store but had now re-entered the SUV on the driver’s side and was seated behind the wheel.   There would be several other fake $20 bills retrieved from the vehicle after the incident.

8:08 pm

The two officers exit the store and cross the street to the SUV. Officer Lane approaches on the driver’s side and Kueng on the passenger side. Lane taps his flashlight on the driver side window and orders, “Let me see your hands.”  Floyd opened the door.  “Hey, man, I’m sorry!” Floyd said. Officer Kueng notes the license plate number and confirms it matches what was reported earlier in the 911 call.

8:10 pm

Floyd is ordered to show both his hands, but hesitates, saying, “I didn’t do nothing”.  He gropes with one hand under the seat and touches the key FOB in the ignition. His companion, tells him, “Let him see your other hand!”  Officer Lane partially draws his service weapon, and again forcefully orders Floyd to show both hands on the steering wheel.  Floyd apologizes profusely and claims he has been shot by police before (there is no record of this having happened).  He places both hands on the steering wheel. Lane returns his weapon to his holster and assures Floyd he is not going to shoot him. (This is standard procedure when a suspect does not fully cooperate.)

The two occupants of the car exit from the passenger side, front and back seat. Both of them had been present during the transaction events at Cup Food store.  Both Morries Hall and Shawanda Hill were known to the police.  They would be detained for a short time. Hill claimed, “We was getting a ride”.  She then called her daughter, McKenzie Anderson, to come and pick her up.  She claimed no knowledge of why Floyd was acting erratically.  She subsequently claimed she was Floyd’s “ex”.  Hall gave police a false name and identification.  He claimed they had only been “catching a ride” with FLoyd and didn’t know him.  This was false; Hall and Floyd had been acquaintances for three years, meeting at a St. Louis Park church.

Note:  (Morries Lester Hall (42) would flee Minneapolis two days after the incident and hitchhike to Houston, Texas, where he was originally from.  He had outstanding warrants for his arrest in Minnesota.  He had a previous arrest record and convictions in Minnesota for first-degree felony assault, burglary, aggravated robbery, and multiple domestic assault charges between 2012 and 2018.  He would be detained in Houston and interrogated by Minneapolis investigators there pending extradition.  He also had a criminal history in Texas. He was wanted for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Hall was apprehended in Texax and interviewed later by Minnesota BCA.  Officers did not search Hall or his backpack. Surveillance video from Dragon Wok restaurant shows Hall appearing to destroy evidence while seated in the vehicle. Hall fled the scene before the incident ended. He had spent the entire day with Floyd and knew what Floyd had ingested, but did not offer any information to the police.)

Note: (Shawanda Renee Hill  (45)  was a Minneapolis resident.  She had a previous arrest record and convictions for check forgery, felony theft, disorderly conduct, solicitation for prostitution, and stalking and domestic abuse between 1997 and 2016. )

8:11 pm

After a short interaction, Lane, orders Floyd exit the SUV with his hands on top of his head. Floyd complies and Lane opens the door and assists Floyd out of his seat.  As Floyd gets out, his ID or driver’s license is flung to the ground beside the door of the SUV. Floyd faces away and Lane begins to handcuff him. There is a brief struggle as Floyd resists being handcuffed.  Officer Kueng comes to assist Lane as Floyd begins to struggle. Officer Lane switches positions with Kueng and returns to the sidewalk to speak with the passengers Hall and Hill.  

8:12 pm

Kueng begins to walk Floyd to the sidewalk, but Floyd stumbles to the ground.  He is picked up by Kueng and walked to the side of the restaurant building.  He is positioned against the wall standing and immediately slumps to a sitting position on the sidewalk.  Kueng orders Floyd to sit down.  Floyd partially slides down the wall slowly, stopping at the molding at the base of the building.  Kueng orders to sit down fully.  Ass he hits the sidewalk, his cuffed hands knock a small chunk of plaster from the wall, which bounces off his hand and lands on the sidewalk beside him.   He then leans to his left and the SUV key fob in his pocket falls out. Kueng retrieves the key fob and puts it in his own pocket telling Floyd, “I’ll hold on to this for you”.  he then asks Floyd who the vehicle belongs to and Floyd responds, “My sister”.

8:13 pm

A Minneapolis park police car (squad #830) arrives on the scene and an officer emerges.  Officer Kueng asks Floyd for his name and other identification information.  He scribbles the information onto a notepad, hands it to the park officer and requests, “Okay,do you mind doing me a favor? Just run this guy for me. George Floyd. Thank you.” The park officer returns to his vehicle and runs the check.  The SUV does not belong to George Floyd; he claims it belongs to his sister.  

 

Kueng informs Floyd of  the reason for the detention, “We’re here because it sounds like you gave a fake bill to the individuals in there. (Cup Foods)”  “Yeah,” Floyd replied.

8:14 pm

Officer Lane finishes talking with the other occupants of the vehicle.  The passenger door has been left open.  Floyd is picked up by both officers holding his arms as they walk across the street to the squad car.  The other two occupants remain on the sidewalk as Floyd is led away.  Floyd appears to be in distress after he is picked up.

8:15 pm

The two officers walk Floyd to the driver’s side back door of the squad car. They do not notice the small packet he dropped on the sidewalk.  Floyd appears to be having difficulty walking, staggering, and tripping. The officers get ready to open the door of the squad as Floyd drops to the ground hitting his right shoulder on the back fender of the squad car.  He is picked up by Kueng, the door is opened and both officers struggle to put him inside. He stiffens and resists. He claims he is claustrophobic.  The Park Police vehicle turns around on the street and parks perpendicular to squad car. The park officer exits and proceeds towards the squad car but is directed by Lane to “watch that car. Make sure no one goes in it.” The park officer  crosses the street and secures the SUV. 

The park officer speaks briefly with the other two occupants of the SUV, closes the doors and stations himself behind it.  The two occupants remain at the scene on the sidewalk next to the restaurant. He retrieves what appears to be a credit card or driver’s license from the pavement next to the SUV front driver’s door.

8:17 pm

A squad car (squad #352) with officers Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin arrives on Chicago Ave and parks momentarily in front of Floyd’s SUV. They then cross the street and park directly behind the Park Police vehicle on Chicago Ave.  Thao is the driver. The two officers exit the vehicle and walk slowly to the squad car.  They had answered a call for assistance for a suspect that was resisting arrest. Chauvin puts on a pair of black gloves and watches as Lane and Kueng attempt to get Floyd inside the squad car’s driver side back seat. Officer Thao positions himself on the sidewalk to maintain a perimeter around the squad car.

8:18 pm

Officer Lane does a quick pat down of Floyd and retrieves a methamphetamine pipe from his pocket.  Floyd resists getting into the back seat of the squad. He drops to the ground and begins to complain that he cannot breathe and that he is claustrophobic.  Floyd continues to resist saying, “I want to lay on the ground! I’m going down, I’m going down…”

It was at this point that Floyd’s heart arrhythmia began. Arrhythmia occurs when the electrical impulses that coordinate heartbeats stop working properly, causing the heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly, or a combination of all three.  Blood flow through the heart is impaired and slowed. This results in a reduced transfer of oxygen to the blood from the lungs and reduced circulation of oxygenated blood throughout the body.  Arrhythmia produces chest pains and a feeling of shortness of breath, even though physical breathing continues normally.  

Floyd is picked up by Lane and Kueng and inserted into the back seat of the squad car.  He thrashes on the seat and kicks repeating, “I can’t breathe” multiple times. Kueng attempts to restrain him from the driver’s side door and Chauvin and Lane run to the passenger side, open the door, and hold onto his legs. Floyd continues to struggle and protest, “I can’t breathe.  I’m having a heart attack.”  Floyd repeats, “Okay, I want to lay on the ground” multiple times.  During the struggle, he strikes his head inside the squad car and begins bleeding from his lip and mouth.

After almost three minutes of struggle, Lane says, “Let’s take him out use the MRT.” (MRT is a maximum restraint technique. this would include the use of hobbles or shackles to restrain the feet and the neck and shoulder restraint that Chauvin placed.) Floyd is pulled from the passenger side back seat and positioned and initially placed on his back momentarily.  All three officers flip him over and reposition him on his stomach flat on the pavement.  Floyd thanks them for getting him out of the car and onto the ground. Officer Chauvin asks Lane if Floyd was going to jail.  Lane then informs him of the circumstances of Floyd’s arrest and that he was being arrested for forgery.   During the struggle, Chauvin’s body camera is dislodged.  He will later retrieve it and reattach it.

8:20 pm

All three officers physically restrain Floyd on the asphalt.  Chauvin is at the head, Kueng and Lane at the lower body and feet.  Floyd is held immobile on his stomach parallel to the rear quarter panel of the squad with his head and shoulders protruding past the rear bumper.  Floyd continues to thrash momentarily. [1] Chauvin applies a “neck compression restraint”. [2] with his left knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck and shoulders. He places most of his weight on his right leg positioned on the pavement. Chauvin asks Lane if he has his hobble to apply to Floyd’s legs.  Thao searches for the hobble but is unable to locate it immediately.  Officer Lane calls for an ambulance code 2 (immediate, no sirens). 

8:21 pm

The three officers continue to restrain Floyd on the ground as his thrashing and movement slowly decrease.  The ambulance call is quickly upgraded to code 3 (immediate, full sirens). Floyd begins to calm down and his movements diminish.

8:22 pm

Floyd continues talking with labored breathing. He complains that his stomach hurts and that he “has the COVID”.  While restrained on the ground, Floyd exhibits agitation, shouting, and hyperactivity, trying to move back and forth for several minutes. He is heard shouting loudly, “My face is stoned… ah hah, ah haaa, ah please people, please, please let me stand, please, ah-hah, ah haaa!” Floyd’s movements begin to slow.

Floyd exclaims, “I can’t believe this. Mom, I love you. Tell my kids I love them, I’m dead.”   

8:23 pm

It was at this point that Darnella Frazier, 17, pulled out her phone and recorded the video that spread virally on the internet.

At this point, a small stream of liquid flows from under the vehicle towards the curb.  This is condensate from the vehicle air conditioning condenser from the running vehicle.   Floyd continued to vocalize and groan but with diminishing volume while continuing to complain he could not breathe.[3] . He is breathing, but with his heart in arrhythmia, there is no longer adequate circulation of oxygenated blood. The breathing is called agonal [4] breathing; it continues as a brain stem reflex.  Had he been unable to breathe because of the restraint on his shoulders and neck, he would not have been able to vocalize at high amplitude and gasp for air. Vocalization requires air from the lungs to be expelled through an open airway through the larynx.  Pressure applied to the side of the neck, and not to the throat, has little or no effect on breathing.  It can affect blood flow to the brain through the carotid artery.

Floyd continued to moan and cry out loudly while being restrained.  At one point he begs to stand up and then he says, “I’m gonna die”.  The three officers discuss what to do, whether to turn him on his side or keep him as he was.  Slowly Floyd’s agitation decreases, and he ceases moving anything except his shoulders and head.

He is asked if he wants to get up; Floyd responds, “I can’t”.

Chauvin exchanges a few words with Floyd, “You’re doing a lot of talking man.”

Floyd responds, “I can’t do nothing.” 

Keung informs Floyd that EMS is on its way. Thao locates the hobble restraint and asks if they still want it at this point.  Lane says okay, but never applies it.  At this point Floyd complains that his face is becoming numb.

8:24 pm

Floyd struggles slightly on the ground still complaining he cannot breathe.  He has been speaking clearly and loudly but is groaning and moaning as well in between.

Lane speaks to the gathering crowd, “Can you get up on the sidewalk please, one side or the other please?”  Kueng adds, “We need you to keep some distance.”

Floyd continues to moan, “My face is getting it bad.” Lane asks Chauvin, “Should we get his legs up, or is this good?”

Chauvin responds, “Leave him, just leave him.”  Kueng concurs.  Lane responds, “All right”.   

Thao asks, “Is he high on something?” to which Kueng responds, “I believe so, we found a pipe.” Floyd continues to moan and complain “I can’t breathe”. 

Lane responds, “He’s got to be on something.”  Thao asks Floyd, “What are you on?” with no response. 

A bystander yells at Floyd, “Well get up and get in the car, man. Get up and get in the car.”  Floyd, responds, “I will. I can’t move.” He is unable to get up and makes no attempt to do so.

Lane informs Chauvin, “We found a weed pipe on him, there might be something else, there might be like PCP or something.  Is that the shaking of the eyes right is PCP? Where their eyes like shake back and forth really fast?” 

Floyd makes a last exclamation, “I’m through, I’m through.  I’m claustrophobic.  My stomach hurts.  My neck hurts.  Everything hurts.  I need some water or something please.  I can’t breathe officer.”

Chauvin responds, “Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes a lot of oxygen to talk.”

Floyd continues to moan, “Come on, man. 0h, oh. I cannot breathe. l cannot breathe. Ah!  They’ll kill me. They‘ll kill me. I can’t breathe. I can‘t breathe. Oh! Ah! Ah! Please.”

Lane interjects, “Should we roll him on his side?”  Chauvin responds, “No, he’s staying where we got him.”

Lane responds, “Okay, I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.”[5] 

Chauvin responds, “Well, that’s why we got the ambulance coming.”

The suspicion that Floyd was suffering EXD was plausible as it is triggered by acute drug usage, particularly stimulants such as methamphetamine.  

A crowd has begun to gather and begins to interact heatedly with the officers.  Some people in the crowd begin to shout at the officers, especially Chauvin.  Officer Thao pushes the crowd back from the scene to the sidewalk.  One person shouts, “Can’t you see … he’s not breathing now?”

8:25 pm

Kueng and Lane check Floyd and tell Chauvin, “He’s breathing”.  As the crowd presses closer Chuavin orders them, “Don’t come over here.” Lane and Kueng tell the crowd, “Up on the sidewalk.  We need you to keep some distance”. 

A person in the crowd shouts, “Is he responsive?”  Chauvin replies, “Yes, we have an ambulance coming”.  Another person in the crowd shouts, “Does he have a pulse?”

Shawanda Hill has come to the scene.  She sees Floyd and tells Lane, “He’s about to pass out.”  Lane acknowledges, “I think he’s passing out.” He notes that he is still breathing on the ground and continues to breathe shallowly after losing consciousness.

At this point Floyd suddenly ceases all movement and goes limp on the pavement. He does not move from that point forward.  Floyd’s heart has stopped completely and his brain is shutting down; he is now close be being clinically dead.  Officer Kueng is told to check for a pulse.  Kueng responds, “I couldn’t find one.”  There was no pulse; the time of death was recorded as 8:24:24 according in the police incident report.  Chauvin responds surprised, “What?” Lane observes that he is still breathing shallowly until the ambulance arrives.

Lane again suggests, “Maybe we should roll him on his side.” There was no response as officer Kueng tried to locate a pulse again.  Officer Thao checks on the EMS status; the ambulance was two blocks away.  The lack of a detectable pulse does not mean that Floyd’s heart had completely stopped yet, but it was very close.

8:26 pm

Onlookers had begun confronting officers about Floyd’s appearance and lack of movement. Many started to accuse officer Chauvin of deliberately choking Floyd. Their accusations were based on observing the restraint placed on Floyd by officer Chauvin.  There was no need for the restraint after Floyd had died, but the officers did not know that had happened yet.. (The widely distributed photo of Chauvin was extracted from a video taken by Darnella Frazier, one of the onlookers)

8:27 pm

A Hennepin County ambulance, summoned 7 minutes previously, arrives at the scene and medics roll out a mobile stretcher.  Lane asks Chauvin, “Should we get another car?  Another car, just for the crowd.”  Chauvin responds, “Let’s just get him on the stretcher.”  A medic quickly checks Floyd’s neck for a pulse.

8:28 pm

Floyd’s body is turned over onto his back by the medics.  He is limp and unresponsive. Paramedics cradle his head and place him on the stretcher. After Floyd is taken in an ambulance, Kueng recovers a body camera laying on the ground near Floyd’s shoe and hands it to Chauvin.  Chauvin’s camera had fallen off during the earlier squad car struggle.

8:29 pm

Floyd is moved to the ambulance and the ambulance departs.  Officer Lane accompanies the ambulance and assists with CPR on Floyd.

A moment later medics from Fire Station 17 of Minneapolis arrived at the scene outside the Cup Foods store to find ‘multiple squads on scene and a small crowd of citizens.  There was confusion at the scene as neither the officers nor bystanders gave information to medics on Floyd or his location. They overheard and were told by “several people that the police ‘had killed the man”.

The medics finally located an officer inside the store who told them medics had put Floyd in an ambulance and left the scene.  Crew members were also told by an off-duty firefighter who witnessed the end of the struggle that they had seen Floyd become unresponsive on the ground while handcuffed and restrained by the officers.

Medics in the ambulance then called for assistance and the crew responded at 36th and Park Avenue boarded the ambulance. Two crew members got into the ambulance where they found ‘an unresponsive, pulse-less male’.  CPR and electroshock were performed on Floyd with no results.

8:30 pm

Fire department medics board ambulance at 37th St and assist in CPR.  A medical device was placed on Floyd’s chest a few minutes later to provide mechanical chest compressions until they arrived at HCMC.

8:40 pm

Officer Kueng returns to Cup Food and speaks with the manager and clerks who had interacted with George Floyd. The store had internal surveillance which recorded Floyd and his companions. Floyd had attempted to pass several $20 bills before having one accepted in payment for a pack of cigarettes. The clerk retrieves the fake $20 and gives it to Kueng. Kueng secures the surveillance videos, inside and out and returns to report to Chauvin. He shows Chauvin the fake bill, and says, “That’s what he passed.” Kueng explains the full series of events that took place and produces the key fob for the SUV. They make sure it is locked so that it stays on site until it is either towed or retrieved.   Several more fake bills were found in the SUV. 

The bodycams are turned off.

Subsequent searches of the SUV Floyd drove and Squad 320 (5/27/2020, 12/9/2020 and 1/27/2021) and  turned fake Percocet tablets which were actually a mixture of methamphetamine and fentanyl.  (commonly called “speedballs”) Two whole tablets were recovered from the SUV and a whole tablet along with partially chewed residue were found in the squad car containing the saliva and DNA from George Floyd.  

9:25 pm George Floyd is pronounced dead at Hennepin Medical Center.  His actual death was at 8:26 pm. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s report listed the cause of death as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression”.  The latter part of that description is not supported by any data in the actual autopsy report.

  • There were no serious blunt force injuries; minor contusions and abrasions on wrist and lips.
  • Floyd had arteriosclerosis heart disease, an enlarged heart, and hypertension.
  • No life-threatening injuries were found. No facial, anterior muscles of the neck, or laryngeal structure injuries.  No chest, rib, vertebral column, or visceral trauma.
  • No injuries to neck, shoulders, flanks, back, and buttocks. No evidence of trauma
  • Toxicology found fentanyl, methamphetamine, morphine, and several cannabinoids.
  • Tested positive for COVID-19, no indication it was still active.
  • No fractures of the skull or damage to the brain.
  • No neck injury. Thyroid cartilage intact, hyoid bones intact. No evidence of strangulation or traumatic asphyxiation.
  • The heart is enlarged. Artery blockages of 25% to 90% in coronary arteries.
  • The lungs were diffusely congested and edematous (filled with fluid)  They weighed 2 to 3 times the normal weight.

Hennepin County Coroner’s Report And Exhibits 

Report:  Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Autopsy    Exhibits:   [1]  [3]  [4]  [5]

Baden Independent Report: [Exhibit 2]

The following are reference videos used to construct the timeline. They are in roughly sequential order. Some do not have audio.

1:  Dragon Wok Surveillance Video (7:50pm-8:15pm) This video shows the arrest and handcuffing.  The arrival of Park Police squad car.

2: CUP Foods inside surveillance video  (7:28pm-7:47pm)  This video shows George Floyd in CUP Foods during the commission of the crime.

3. Street View Camera  (8:15pm:8:21pm) Street View of the incident from intersection camera.

3:Stefan Molyneux Podcast Analysis of the incident with a police investigator

Evidence

  1. BCA Investigative Interview Thomas Lane: Transcript   Audio
  2. BCA Investigative Interview Tou Thao:        Video
  3. Body Cam Transcript Combined: JA Kueng, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and Derek Chauvin
  4. J.Alexander Kueng Body Camera Video full length
  5. Thomas Lane Body Camera           Video full length
  6. Tou Thao Body Camera                  Video full length
  7. Derek Chauvin Camera                  Video partial length
  8. Darnella Frazier video                    Video Full length
  9. Body Camera Video of George Floyd 2019 Arrest on May 8  (3 body cams)    [1]

Initial Posting 06/13/2020 at 8:30 pm

Footnotes:

[1]The neck/shoulder restraint procedure used by Chauvin was an approved non-deadly force method of restraint allowed by the Minneapolis police department for officers trained in its use.  The restraint consists of “compressing one or both sides of a person’s neck with an arm or leg without applying direct pressure to the trachea or airway.” It is used to control someone effectively with “light to moderate pressure” or “with the intention of rendering the person unconscious by applying adequate pressure.” The latter act is authorized only to protect officers’ lives with a suspect who is “actively aggressive” and cannot be controlled by lesser methods.  The loss of consciousness is temporary and not fatal.

[2]The Minneapolis Police Department’s Policy & Procedure Manual defines a neck restraint as a “non-deadly force option.” The handbook read: “Defined as compressing one or both sides of a person’s neck with an arm or leg, without applying direct pressure to the trachea or airway (front of the neck). Only sworn employees who have received training from the MPD Training Unit are authorized to use neck restraints.”

The book has two types of neck restraints: 

  • Conscious Neck Restraint: The subject is placed in a neck restraint with intent to control, and not to render the subject unconscious, by only applying light to moderate pressure. 
  • Unconscious Neck Restraint: The subject is placed in a neck restraint with the intention of rendering the person unconscious by applying adequate pressure. 

Derek Chauvin was employing the conscious neck restraint for the entire period in which Floyd was restrained.

 [3] Sudden cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. The condition usually results from an electrical disturbance in the heart that disrupts its pumping action, stopping blood flow to your body. Sudden cardiac arrest differs from a heart attack when blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked. However, a heart attack can sometimes trigger an electrical disturbance that leads to sudden cardiac arrest.

Symptoms include sudden collapse, no pulse, no breathing and loss of consciousness.  Sometimes other symptoms occur including chest discomfort, shortness of breath, palpitations, and weakness. When cardiac arrest occurs, the heart will go into an irregular cycle, starting and stopping frequently.  This ends with the heart stopping and the pulse ceasing.  As a result of loss of cerebral perfusion (blood flow to the brain) the victim will rapidly lose consciousness and will stop breathing. The heart can only be restarted by defibrillation applied very quickly after onset of symptoms. Loss of consciousness occurs within a minute after the heart stops beating.

[4] Floyd was physically breathing but he was not getting oxygen into his blood or expelling carbon dioxide. Agonal breathing is the medical term used to describe struggling to breathe or gasping. It is often a symptom of severe medical emergency, such as stroke or cardiac arrest.

The gasping associated with agonal breathing is not true breathing, but rather a brain stem reflex. Agonal breathing often occurs because the heart is no longer circulating oxygen-rich blood. In other cases, it may be due to the lungs not bringing in enough oxygen. If a person starts agonal breathing, they should get to the hospital or receive emergency medical intervention immediately, unless they are in a setting intended for the end of their life. Though not always the case, agonal breathing may indicate death is imminent for the individual.  Agonal breathing precedes and follows the stoppage of a heart.

His feeling of being unable to breathe was real, but due to the fact his heart had stopped.  The fentanyl in his system could have been another contributing factor to the cardiac arrest.  Fentanyl in high doses, which the autopsy revealed, can make breathing difficult and require additional exertion. Fentanyl is mainly broken down in the liver into norfentanyl and mostly excreted by the kidneys. Floyd had a level of 19ng/ml of fentanyl in his blood. Fatal levels have ranged between 3ng/ml to 58 ng/ml. The more prior usage that has occurred the higher the tolerance before it is fatal.

[5] Excited delirium syndrome is associated with drug use, most commonly cocaine and methamphetamine.  Its symptoms are agitation, delirium, confusion, sweating and attempts at violence, unexpected strength, and high body temperature.  It is complicated by high blood pressure.  Excited delirium can lead to cardiac arrest and those that experience it typically go through various stages including severe agitation, potential violence, police restraint, struggle, respiratory failure, and usually death.  Floyd exhibited many of those symptoms, but they are not unique to excited delirium.  They are also common to a drug overdose. The drug Floyd ingested, Fentanyl, is not a stimulant, but rather an opioid and there was no cocaine in his system, but indication of recent methamphetamine use.  Floyd exhibited many of these symptoms.  His position on the pavement whether prone or on his side would have made not difference.  The treatment for EXD is to get medical help as quickly as possible and injection of ketamine or midazolan to sedate the person.

George Floyd suffered from an enlarged heart, 6% greater than normal.  There was multi focal atherosclerosis.  There was 75% proximal and 75% mid narrowing of the left anterior descending coronary artery (This artery is called “the widow maker”. A blockage in it will produce a major fatal heart attack in minutes.)   There was 25%proximal narrowing of the circumflex coronary artery and 90% proximal narrowing of the right coronary artery.  Floyd also suffered from cyclically diagnosed high blood pressure.

One of the dangerous side effects of fentanyl use is bradycardia. Bradycardia is a name for what happens when someone has a slow heartbeat, which is usually defined as having less than 60 beats a minute. When someone experiences bradycardia, their heart can’t pump enough blood during exercise or normal activity. Some of the symptoms of bradycardia include:

  • Dizziness
  • Pervasive lack of energy
  • Shortness of breath
  • Fainting

When bradycardia occurs, the heartbeat can become irregular, sometimes in an attempt to compensate for the inadequate heart rate. When these heartbeats are felt by the person experiencing them, they are referred to as palpitations. Cardiac arrhythmia is another term for when the natural rhythm of the heart is disrupted. Not only can opioids cause this disruption, but it can also happen when someone is going through withdrawal from opioids.

When someone experiences heart palpitations and cardiac arrhythmia without proper treatment, it can then lead to very serious and deadly circumstances including stroke, heart failure or death.Fentanyl and opioids in general act as depressants which slow down the body’s natural systems, including the respiratory and cardiac system.  When someone uses an opioid like fentanyl chronically, it can lead to a condition called long Q-T syndrome, where the electrical conduction of the heart is slowed and the heart’s natural rhythm is disrupted. This can even happen with short-term opioid use.

When someone uses fentanyl in the long-term, this change in the natural rhythm of the heart can become permanent, contributing to a lack of adequate oxygen delivery and heart damage. All these potential complications occur because when someone takes an opioid, it impacts the regulatory systems of their brain, as well as the heart and blood vessels.  If untreated bradycardia will eventually result in cardiac arrest.  

Derek Chauvin

Derek Chauvin was a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department for nearly 19 years. He served in the US Army as a member of the military police and had worked as a custom protection officer for security services company. Chauvin worked for McDonald’s and another restaurant in the mid-1990’s.

Chauvin was initially hired as a community service officer in January 2001 and served for about eight months before he was promoted to police officer, the personnel files show. He was the subject of at 18 complaints filed and only two were “closed with discipline”.

  • The personnel files released by police only detail a 2007 complaint from a woman alleging that Chauvin had pulled her from her car, searched and placed in the back of a squad car for going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. An investigator found that Chauvin “did not have to remove complainant from car” and that he could have interviewed her outside the vehicle. The report noted that there was no audio of the incident and the dash came in Chauvin’s car was turned off. Chauvin admitted that he did not check to see if the dash cam in his cruiser was on at the start of his shift and left a microphone in the squad car during the traffic stop. He received a letter of reprimand and a notice of suspension for the incident. He was also recommendations for a department medal of valor for his actions in two incidents. One involved shooting a man who pointed a shotgun at officers, and another involved shooting a man suspected of a violent domestic assault.
  • In 2005, Chauvin and another officer were involved in a vehicle chase, during which the car they were pursuing hit another vehicle, killing two passengers in that third vehicle.
  • In 2006, Chauvin and five other Minneapolis police officers opened fire on a stabbing suspect, Wayne Reyes. Reyes aimed a sawed-off shotgun at the officers and they fatally shot him. The officers were justified in their actions, a grand jury determined. Chauvin received a medal of valor for his actions. 
  • Also, in 2006, a Minnesota inmate filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Minneapolis Police Department, naming several officers, including Chauvin. Court records did not show specifics and the case was dismissed after the complainant failed to pay a required filing fee. 
  • In 2008, after responding to a report of domestic violence, Chauvin shot and wounded an accused batterer. A woman had called 911, yelling for someone to stop hitting her. When Chauvin and another officer arrived at the apartment, a man identified as Ira Latrell Toles locked himself in a bathroom. Chauvin forced his way into the bathroom and, when Toles tried to grab the officer’s gun, Chauvin shot him twice in the stomach. Toles was charged with two counts of felony obstruction but pleaded out to misdemeanor charges. The Minneapolis Police Department placed Chauvin on administrative leave while reviewing the shooting. 
  • In 2011, Chauvin was among officers who chased after a man with a handgun on foot. Police said Chauvin’s partner shot the man, identified as Leroy Martinez. The department placed both officers on administrative leave. Martinez subsequently was charged in a separate shooting incident. 
  • In 2013, a group of teens filed a complaint against Chauvin and another officer, saying at least one pulled his service revolver after one teen shot a Nerf gun that might have struck another person. The department notified the complainants of a review for “inappropriate language and attitude.”

Tou Thao

Tuo Thao had been a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department since 2012.

He had 6 complaints filed with internal affairs, one of which was still open, according to a Minneapolis Police Department internal affairs public summary. The other five were closed without discipline.

Before becoming a police officer, Thao worked as a security guard, a stocker at a grocery store and a trainer at McDonalds. He attended the North Hennepin Community College and was pursuing an associate degree in law enforcement but didn’t graduate, his personnel file shows.

Thao listed that he could speak Hmong fluently. He is of Cambodian ethnicity.

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Alexander Kueng

J.A. Kueng was hired as a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department in December. He joined the department as a cadet in February 2019.

He had no prior complaints. When Floyd’s death took place, it was Kueng’s third shift as a police officer, said Thomas Plunkett, his attorney. Chauvin was Kueng’s training officer, according to Plunkett.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota, his personnel file says.

In his job application, Kueng said he worked as an asset protection detective for Macy’s from 2014 to 2017 and in a temporary job with Target. He listed that he can speak, read and write Russian.

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Thomas Lane

Thomas Lane joined the police department as a cadet in February 2019. He didn’t have a history of complaints. Lane had been on the police force for four days when Floyd died, according to his attorney Earl Gray. Lane was “doing everything he thought he was supposed to do as a four-day police officer,” Gray said.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Minnesota in 2016, Lane worked as a juvenile corrections officer for Hennepin County and as an assistant probation officer.

He previously worked as a server and bartender at different restaurants and was a sales associate at Home Depot, according to his police job application. Under volunteer experience, Lane listed that he helps Somali youth in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood with their homework and tutors them in science and math activities.

 

 

 

 


 

George Floyd

George Floyd was a 46-years-old who was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1974 to George Perry and Larcenia Floyd.  His parents divorced and he moved with his mother as a baby to Houston, Texas, where he grew to adulthood. His father died in 2002 at the age of 53.  Floyd had 4 other siblings: Philonise, Rodney, Terrence, and Bridgett. 

Floyd was a talented athlete who played football and basketball in high school and college. He attended Yates High School graduating in 1993.  He received a basketball scholarship to South Florida Community College.  After two years he transferred to Texas A&M University and again played basketball before dropping out and returning to Houston.   He was 6’4” tall and weighed 223 pounds.

He began a rap career with the Screwed Up Click, a hip-hop group led by DJ Screw. Floyd worked as an automotive customizer and played club basketball. He also embarked on a life of crime.  Floyd was sentenced to prison 5 times.  In 1998 he was convicted of theft and sentenced to 10 months in prison.  In 1999 he was again convicted of theft with a firearm and sentenced to another 10-month prison term.  In 2002 he was sentenced to an 8-month prison term for cocaine possession with intent to sell.  A second cocaine charge in 2004 resulted in another 10-month sentence.  2005 brought another cocaine offense a 10-month sentence on conviction.  In 2007 he committed his most serious crime, a home invasion, and armed robbery.  Floyd and 5 fellow gang members broke into a home and held a 7-month pregnant woman at gunpoint while ransacking the house looking for drugs and money.  Floyd held the gun, while his companions pistol whipped her.  He was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2009 for aggravated robbery in 2009.  He was released in late 2013. After his release he managed to “star” in a series of pornographic movies.

Along the way Floyd fathered 5 children starting in 1998, three boys and two girls. He never lived with or supported any of the women and children. He fathered his last child, a daughter, in 2014 in Houston, just before leaving for Minnesota.  

In 2014 he moved to Minneapolis, Mn, taking up residence in a St Louis park apartment.    He worked as a truck driver and bouncer at a El Nuevo Rodeo nightclub.  He had worked there part-time for less than a year. He also started work in 2017 as a security guard at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center in downtown Minneapolis.  He was convicted of three misdemeanors in Minneapolis, for failure to have proof of insurance and no Mn driver’s license.  Floyd’s mother died in 2018 and was buried in North Carolina.

On May 25, 2020 Floyd committed his final crime by passing a counterfeit $20-bill for the purchase of cigarettes at a convenience store.  He was inebriated with a mix of fentanyl, marijuana, and amphetamines.  He was arrested and died during police custody of cardiac arrest precipitated by heart disease and a high dosage of fentanyl.  George Floyd never supported or had any parental involvement with any of the children he fathered.  He also did not support or contribute to the support of any of 4 different women with whom he had children.