Family Of George Floyd Sues City Of Minneapolis, Four Police Officers

The family of George Floyd filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Minneapolis and the four police officers involved in the incident leading up to his death.

This is in addition to the $14.6 million raised via GoFundMe, which was established by his brother, Philonise Floyd.

“It was not just the knee of officer Derek Chauvin on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, but it was the knee of the entire Minneapolis Police Department on the neck of George Floyd that killed him,” said attorney Ben Crump, adding “The city of Minneapolis has a history of policies and procedures and deliberate indifference when it comes to the treatment of arrestees, especially Black men.”

Nationwide riots erupted after a video of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck went viral. Bystanders could be seen pleading with the officer, who has been charged in Floyd’s death along with three other policemen – Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, all of whom have been fired.

“This is an unprecedented case, and with this lawsuit, we seek to set a precedent to make it financially prohibitive, so police won’t … kill marginalized people, especially Black people, in the future,” said Crump, calling it a “tipping point” and a “teachable moment for America,” according to USA Today.

The lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount but seeks “compensatory, special and punitive damages,” attorney fees and the appointment of a “receiver or similar authority” to ensure Minneapolis properly trains its police officers. 

Attorney Antonio Romanucci, who also represents Floyd’s family, said it was unconstitutional that Minneapolis trained its police officers to kneel on the necks of nonviolent, compliant offenders. 

“If you don’t change the use-of-force policies and train, you will have continued failures, as in the death of George Floyd,” Romanucci said. –USA Today

Floyd left behind a six-year-old daughter, Gianna, who was born to his former partner, Roxie Washington.