George Floyd’s Family Suing Police Charged With His Death

George Floyd’s family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis and the officers involved in Floyd’s death in May.

Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed when former officer Derek Chauvin reportedly pinned his neck to the ground for nearly nine minutes.

“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,” Floyd family attorney said at a news conference. “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.”

The incident, which was captured on video by bystanders, went viral on social media. Floyd can be heard in the video saying he can’t breathe and crying out for his mother, according to USA Today.

Body-worn camera footage from two of the officers involved in Floyd’s death was released Wednesday by a Hennepin County judge, The Washington Post reported, revealing new details about the moments leading up to Floyd’s death. The video was entered as evidence in the criminal case against the four officers.

The video shows a white police officer pulled his gun within 15 seconds of coming into contact with Floyd in a parked vehicle, according to The Washington Post.

In the video, The Post reported, Floyd appears visibly shaken afraid of the police and moans and begs for his life after being pinned to the ground.

The family’s complaint accuses the Minneapolis Police Department of training its officers “that a ‘neck restraint’ was an authorized form of non-deadly force, and that a ‘chokehold’ was a form of deadly force capable of causing serious bodily injury and/or death.”

However, the lawsuit maintains, serious bodily injury or death is “reasonably likely” when using a neck restraint as defined by the police department.

The neck restraint therefore qualifies as deadly force, which is prohibited by the Fourth Amendment, the lawsuit claims.

The family says the Minneapolis Police Department’s own policy says that when any restraint technique is used, “the subject shall not be left in a prone position and shall be placed on their side as soon as they are secured”; neither step was followed by the officers involved in Floyd’s death. 

The department’s policy also states that once the subject has been secured, officers are to watch for significant behavioral or consciousness changes, shortness of breath or irregular breathing, seizures or convulsions, complaints of serious pain or injury and other medical problems.

Floyd’s family says up to and until 2019, Minneapolis officers were allowed to receive “Killology” or “warrior style” training. This style of training instructs officers to consider every person and situation as a potential deadly threat and to kill with less hesitation.

The plaintiffs maintain that none of the officers “ever had a reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm, nor did they have a reasonable belief that any other person was in danger of imminent bodily danger from Mr. Floyd at any point in time.”

The family also accuses the city of Minneapolis of failing to terminate or discipline “officers who demonstrate patterns of misconduct,” and notes the department has had prior incidents of excessive force.

Floyd’s death sparked outrage throughout the U.S. and around the world, and protesters took to the streets in an effort to draw attention to — and hopefully end — police killings of Black citizens.

However, many of the protesters themselves allege that they faced violence at the hands of police and have filed class action lawsuits across the country.

Advocacy group Black Lives Matter and several citizens filed a class action lawsuit against the city of Seattle after protesters say their peaceful demonstration was met with unnecessary police brutality.

The plaintiffs in the Seattle case say the Seattle Police Department attempted to silence protesters using “less than lethal” force, such as tear gas, other chemical irritants and rubber bullets.

Protesters in Washington, D.C., along with Black Lives Matter D.C. and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, have filed a class action lawsuit against President Donald Trump and other government officials.

That complaint accuses Trump and U.S. Attorney General William Barr of ordering the use of force against peaceful demonstrators in order to clear the area of Lafayette Square for the president’s photo op.

In its civil suit, the family of George Floyd seeks a monetary judgment against the four accused officers to include compensatory, special and punitive damages; court costs and disbursements, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and prejudgment interest.

The family also seeks judgments against the city of Minneapolis for compensatory and special damages in an amount to be determined, court costs and disbursements and prejudgment interest.

In addition, the family is asking for the appointment of “a receiver or similar authority” to ensure the city properly trains and supervises, as well as any other relief deemed appropriate by the Court.

What do you think will be the outcome of the family’s civil case? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jeffrey S. Storms of Newmark Storms Dworak LLC; Ben Crump of Ben Crump Law; Antonio M. Romanucci, Bhavani Raveendran and Nicolette A. Ward of Romanucci & Blandin LLC; William Pintas and Laura Mullins of Pintas And Mullins Law Firm; Devon M. Jacob of Jacob Litigation Inc.; Chris Stewart and Justin Miller of Stewart Trial Attorneys; and Michelle R. Gilboe and Scott Masterson of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP.

The George Floyd Death Civil Lawsuit is Kaarin Nelson Schaffer v. Derek Chauvin, et al., Case No. 0:20-cv-01577-SRN-TNL, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

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