Royal Oak Tribune

KEY EVENTS SINCE FLOYD’S ARREST AND DEATH

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• May 25: Minneapoli­s police officers respond to a call shortly after 8p.m. about a possible counterfei­t $20bill being used at a corner grocery and encounter a Black man, later identified as George Floyd, who struggles and ends up handcuffed and face down on the ground. Officer Derek Chauvin uses his knee to pin Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes while bystanders shout at him to stop. Bystander video shows Floyd crying “I can’t breathe” multiple times before going limp. He’s pronounced dead at a hospital.

• May 26: Police issue a statement saying Floyd died after a “medical incident,” and that he physically resisted and appeared to be in medical distress. Minutes later, bystander video is posted online. Police release another statement saying the FBI will help investigat­e. Chauvin and three other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — are fired. Protests begin.

• May 27: Mayor Jacob Frey calls for criminal charges against Chauvin. Protests lead to unrest in Minneapoli­s, with some people looting and starting fires. Protests spread to other cities.

• May 28: Gov. Tim Walz activates the Minnesota National Guard. Police abandon the 3rd Precinct station as protesters overtake it and set it on fire.

• May 29: Chauvin is arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaught­er. President Donald Trump tweets about “thugs” in Minneapoli­s protests and warns: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Protests turn violent again in Minneapoli­s and elsewhere.

• May 30: Trump tries to walk back his tweet. Protests continue nationwide and some turn violent.

• May 31:

Walz says Attorney General Keith Ellison will lead prosecutio­ns in Floyd’s death. The nationwide protests continue.

• June 1: The county medical examiner finds that Floyd’s heart stopped as police restrained him and compressed his neck, noting Floyd had underlying health issues and listing fentanyl and methamphet­amine use as “other significan­t conditions.”

• June 2: Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights launches a civil rights investigat­ion into the Minneapoli­s Police Department.

• June 3:

Ellison files a tougher second-degree murder charge against Chauvin and charges the other three officers who were involved in Floyd’s arrest.

• June 4: A funeral service for Floyd is held in Minneapoli­s.

• June 5: Minneapoli­s bans chokeholds by police, the first of many changes to be announced in coming months, including an overhaul of the police department’s use-of-force policy.

• June 6: Massive, peaceful protests happen nationwide to demand police reform. Services are held for Floyd in Raeford, North Carolina, near his birthplace.

• June 7: A majority of Minneapoli­s City Council members say they support dismantlin­g the police department. The idea later stalls but sparks a national debate over police reform.

• June 10: Floyd’s brother testifies before the House Judiciary Committee for police accountabi­lity.

• June 16: Trump signs an executive order to encourage better police practices and establish a database to track officers with excessive use-of-force complaints.

• July 15: Floyd’s family sues Minneapoli­s and the four former officers.

• July 21: The Minnesota Legislatur­e passes a broad slate of police accountabi­lity measures that includes bans on neck restraints, chokeholds and so-called warrior-style training.

• Oct. 7: Chauvin posts $1million bond and is released from state prison, sparking more protests.

• Nov. 5: Judge Peter Cahill rejects defense requests to move the officers’ trials.

• Jan. 12: Cahill rules Chauvin will be tried alone due to courtroom capacity issues. The other officers will be tried in August.

• Feb. 12: City leaders say George Floyd Square, the intersecti­on blocked by barricades since Floyd’s death, will reopen to traffic after Chauvin’s trial.

• March 9: The first potential jurors are questioned for Chauvin’s trial after a day’s delay for pretrial motions.

• March 12: Minneapoli­s agrees to pay $27million settlement to Floyd family.

• March 19: Judge declines to delay or move the trial over concerns that the settlement could taint the jury pool.

• March 23: Jury selection completed with 12jurors and three alternates.

• March 29:

Opening statements are given.

• April 11: Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, is fatally shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop in suburban Brooklyn Center, sparking successive days of protest.

• April 12: Judge declines request to sequester Chauvin jury immediatel­y due to Wright shooting.

• April 15: Testimony ends.

April 19: Closing arguments. Jury begins deliberati­ons.

• April 20: Jury reaches verdict.

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