Family of George Floyd visits site of his death, memorial in Minneapolis
George Floyd's son, Quincy Mason Floyd (C R) and family Attorney Ben Crump (C L) and other family members visit on June 3, 2020, the site where George Floyd died in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Kerem Yucel / AFP) (Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Ge
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The family of George Floyd visited Minneapolis Wednesday to see the intersection where he was pinned to the ground by police. Family members - including Floyd's son, Quincy - were accompanied by their lawyer, Benjamin Crump, as they saw for the first time the memorial that has been set up at 38th and Chicago Avenue.
"Every night with my family, we're trying to get justice for my father. No man or woman should be without their fathers," Quincy Mason Floyd said.
Shortly after the press conference, officials announced that the charges against former officer Derek Chauvin have been raised to second-degree murder, and the other officers have been charged.
"Remember, one officer said, 'he doesn't have a pulse, maybe we should turn him on his side.' However, Officer Chauvin said 'no.' That shows intent. Equally important is the fact that those two knees in his back for not 1 minute, not 2 minutes, not 3 minutes, not 4 minutes, not 5 minutes, not 6 minutes, not 7 minutes, not 8 minutes but for almost 9 minutes...George Floyd begged for air."
George Floyd's son, Quincy Mason Floyd (C R) and family Attorney Ben Crump (C L) pray on June 3, 2020, at the site where George Floyd died in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Kerem Yucel / AFP) (Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images)
Crump pleaded for peace and told the crowd that peaceful protests are what Floyd would have wanted.
DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD
George Floyd, a black man, died on Memorial Day while in police custody. Three police officers held him down, with one of them, Officer Derek Chauvin, kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”
Bystander video showed Chauvin continued to kneel on Floyd’s neck even after he lost consciousness and appeared to stop breathing. None of the officers, including the fourth officer standing nearby, moved from their positions until an ambulance arrived, despite bystanders’ pleas.
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The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has ruled his death a homicide and determined his heart stopped as the officers restrained him.