The family of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man whose death in police custody sparked massive protests against systemic racism, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the city and officials responsible for the use of “unjustified, excessive and illegal and deadly force”. . “
Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing Floyd’s sons and brothers, said his 40-page civil action filed in the Minnesota District will continue a “major conversation” about the “police brutality pandemic.”
The civil complaint listed a series of violent arrests made over the years by the Minneapolis Police Department, arguing that city leaders have been negligent in reigning in police misconduct.
“It was the knee of the entire Minneapolis Police Department in George Floyd’s neck that killed him,” Crump told reporters in Minneapolis.
“The city of Minneapolis has a history of policies and procedures and deliberate disregard for the treatment of detainees, especially black men, who cry out for training and discipline.”
The lawsuit did not specify the amount of money the plaintiffs are seeking. But Crump said the final amount should be enough to make it “financially prohibitive” for the police to “kill black and marginalized people in the future in the United States.”
Floyd died May 25 after he was handcuffed and put to the ground by police officers answering a call about a possible bogus $ 20 bill.
Officer Derek Chauvin was videotaped kneeling on Floyd’s neck in handcuffs for more than 8 minutes, even as the man groaned in agony, repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe” and calling his late mother.
“Mr. Floyd did not physically resist the arrest,” according to the civil complaint. “Mr. Floyd was unarmed and at no time did he physically or verbally threaten officers or attempt to flee.”
Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder. The other officers involved in the deadly arrest: Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng, have also been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting the murder.
“As a result of the unjustified, excessive, and illegal and deadly use of force by Chauvin, Lane and Kueng, Floyd experienced conscious pain and suffering,” the lawsuit said. “As a result of the unjustified, excessive, illegal and deadly use of force by Chauvin, Lane and Kueng, Mr. Floyd died.”
Pathologists hired by the family said officers pressed Floyd’s neck and body, cutting off blood and air flow to his brain, killing him from mechanical suffocation.
“George Floyd’s death is a tragedy,” city attorney Erik Nilsson said in a statement Wednesday afternoon after the lawsuit was filed.
“The city is reviewing and responding to the civil lawsuit filed by his family. There are criminal charges pending against four Minneapolis police officers and it is very important that the criminal case continue without interference.”
Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lawyer, and Thomas Plunkett, Kueng’s lawyer, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Emails and phone messages seeking comment from Thao and Lane were not immediately answered Wednesday.
