On May 25, 2020, former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd at 38th and Chicago in South Minneapolis. Chauvin was eventually convicted of second degree murder after kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. Floyd had been accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at Cup Foods. Floyd was 46-years old.
That event set off protests, and some riots, in Minneapolis and in cities across the entire world over the next few weeks. For millions of Black people across the U.S. in particular, it was yet another example of mistreatment by law enforcement.
Floyd’s dying words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry and forever changed the face of Minneapolis and the Twin Cities.
In the two years since that fateful day, calls for police reform have only increased, especially after other deaths at the hands of police including Daunte Wright and Amir Locke in Minnesota.
WCCO Radio’s Vineeta Sawkar hosted a special look back at George Floyd’s death and the aftermath on the two year anniversary of that fateful day. Sawkar was joined by several WCCO personalities including Mike Max, Henry Lake and Jearlyn Steele, and she talks to Robert Samuels, one of the authors of a new book about the life and times of George Floyd.
Also, Chad Hartman talked to civil rights attorney Ben Crump who represented the Floyd family, and the WCCO Newsroom looks back at the events that unfolded on that day, and the days that followed.
