Floyd family sues Minneapolis, ex-cops
MINNEAPOLIS — George Floyd's family filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Minneapolis and the four police officers charged in his death, alleging the officers violated Floyd's rights when they restrained him and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish in its police force.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, was announced by attorney Ben Crump and other lawyers representing Floyd's family.
“This complaint shows what we have said all along, that Mr. Floyd died because the weight of the entire Minneapolis Police Department was on his neck,” Crump said in a statement. “The City of Minneapolis has a history of policies, procedures and deliberate indifference that violates the rights of arrestees, particularly Black men, and highlights the need for officer training and discipline."
Crump said the lawsuit seeks to set a precedent "that makes it financially prohibitive for police to wrongfully kill marginalized people — especially Black people — in the future.”
Floyd, who was Black and handcuffed, died May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other officers at the scene — Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Kueng — are charged with aiding and abetting both seconddegree murder and manslaughter.
All four officers were fired the day after Floyd's death, which set off protests that spread around the world.
Floyd's death also sparked calls to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a new public safety department. A majority of City Council members support the move, saying the department has a long history and culture of brutality that has resisted change.
A public hearing was planned later Wednesday on the proposal, which requires a change in the city's charter that could go to voters in November.
The lawsuit came on the same day that a court allowed public viewing by appointment of video from the body cameras of Lane and Kueng. A coalition of news organizations and attorneys for Lane and Kueng have been advocating to make the videos public. The judge hasn't said why he's not allowing the video to be disseminated more widely.
According to documents in state probate court, Floyd is survived by 11 known heirs, including five children and six siblings. They live in Texas, North Carolina, Florida and New York. All but one of Floyd’s children are adults. A trustee was named last week, paving the way for the lawsuit.
Last year, Minneapolis agreed to pay $20 million to the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an unarmed woman who was shot by an officer after she called 911 to report hearing a possible crime happening behind her home. The settlement came three days after the officer, Mohamed Noor, was convicted of murdering her.
The mother of Philando Castile, a black motorist killed by an officer in 2016, reached a nearly $3 million settlement with the Minneapolis suburb of St. Anthony, which employed the officer. The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted of manslaughter and other charges.