Floyd’s family sues city, four officers
Federal suit filed over death in Minneapolis
Attorneys representing the family of George Floyd filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against the city of Minneapolis and the four police officers charged in his death.
“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,” attorney Ben Crump said. “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 between police and Floyd, 46, a Black man, was recorded by bystanders who posted the video on social media, where it went viral. In the video, Floyd says he can’t breath and cries out for his mother.
Chauvin and the three other officers at the scene, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, were fired. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder. Kueng, Thao and Lane are each charged with aiding and abetting. A trial date was set for March 8, 2021, for all four officers.
“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,” Crump said. He called it a “tipping point” and a “teachable moment for America.”
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-offorce policies and train, you will have continued failures, as in the death of George Floyd,” Romanucci said. A county medical examiner and an independent medical examiner hired by Floyd’s family concluded his death was a homicide.