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Running head: EPortfolio Project; George Floyd’s death

EPortfolio Project: George Floyd's death
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EPortfolio Project: George Floyd’s death
EPortfolio Project: George Floyd's death
On May 25, 2020, something transpired that truly left many people around the world horrified.
Officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on George Floyd's neck in a bid to apprehend him.
On that amateur video, Viewers could hear the heart-breaking calls of the victim saying he
couldn't breathe. Within the 30 minutes that this whole ordeal lasted, George can be heard
saying he can't breathe for over 20 times.
All this happened outside a shop in Minneapolis. Many reports said that the whole incident was
instigated by a report of fake currency in use amounting to 20 dollars. Mike Abumayyaleh is
the owner of Cup Foods, where the incident started. He says that George Floyd was a pleasant
person who had been his customer for a long time and isn't one to start trouble. On that fateful
day, Mike Abumayyaleh was not in his shop, but instead, a teenage employee was. The
employee, suspicious of the 20 dollar bill brought in by George Floyd, decides to contact the
police, which is a necessary protocol in such a case.
From the teenage employee's point of view, George Floyd appeared drunk, and he did not seem
to be in control of himself. In the call made to the police, the employee alleges that George
Floyd had refused to hand back the cigarette pack that h had bought using the "fake 20 dollar
bill". Seven minutes later, officers showed up and found George Floyd sitting in a car parked
nearby with two friends. One officer drew his gun and ordered George Floyd to lift his hands.
It is said that, although he initially struggled, George Floyd did cooperate with police officers
once he was handcuffed. However, when the officers tried to take him into their squad car,
George Floyd fell to the ground, refusing to enter into the vehicle as he claimed to be
claustrophobic.
Officer Chauvin and the others tried and failed to put George Floyd into the vehicle, and Derek
finally pulled him from the vehicle's passenger side, which caused him to fall to the ground,
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EPortfolio Project: George Floyd’s death
still handcuffed. By now, multiple people were recording the incident with their mobile phone
cameras. A distressed George Floyd was then restrained by other officers when Derek Chauvin
proceeded to kneel on his neck. This horrifying ordeal would last for 7 minutes and 46 seconds,
and all the while, George Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe. George, at one point, even
called out for his mother, according to the footage. In response to George Floyd's cries, Officer
Derek can be heard telling him to stay quiet as it takes a whole lot of oxygen to speak.
A bystander then confronted the officers telling them that his nose was bleeding. Six minutes
into this encounter, Officer Keung checked George Floyd's pulse following witnesses' calls
because he had gone quiet and unresponsive. He didn't have any pulse, and after a while,
Officer Derek Chauvin removed his knee from George Floyd's neck and being motionless, they
put him onto a stretcher and took him to a Hennepin ambulance. Bodycam footage from officers
Thomas Lane shows medics trying to perforce CPR on an un-responsive George Floyd for
several minutes. In the hospital, he was pronounced dead after one hour.
In the aftermath of this incident, demonstrations and rioting all over the country and in many
parts of the world ensued, with demonstrators demanding justice for George Floyd and his
family. After immense pressure from the public, the officers involved in the incident were fired,
and Derek Chauvin was charged with manslaughter. In the demonstrations that ensued, lots of
public and private property was destroyed through looting, vandalism, and scores of people,
including police officers, were injured. The president threatened to use the military to combat
the rising chaos in the country where up to 140 cities were involved in the demonstrations.
Mr. Floyd worked as a bouncer at a local club, but he had lost his job like many other
Americans with the covid-19 pandemic. Christopher Harris, his close friend, had advised him
to see temporary employment from an agency. Harris is of the view that the circumstances that
led to George Floyd's death were senseless. He says that it's not right to put all your trust in a

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EPortfolio Project: George Floyd’s death
governing system designed to be against you. He alleges that people start taking the law into
their own hands when they can't find justice from the law.
What role or roles were the police officers performing?
A question that was and still is being asked is whether the officers were justified to use such
extreme measures to apprehend George Floyd. The officers were responding to a report of
counterfeiting. When the incident escalated, the officers can be said to have assumed an
aggressive stance against an unarmed and apologetic George Floyd. The US constitution
protects any arrestee from being treated cruelly by police officers (Kellie Pantekoek, 2020).
Minimal force is only permitted to protect yourself in case you feel threatened by an arrestee.
According to Kellie 2020, it might amount to police brutality if an officer uses excessive force
without probable cause. However, they are permitted to use excessive force if the culprit is
trying to escape or if they pose a significant threat to officers of the law or other people.
Around the world, similar laws on arrest procedures exist (Sharma, 2018). In India, for
example, the law provides for the humane and lawful treatment of any arrestee. Similarly, in
Britain and many parts of Europe (Fichera, 2011), human rights should be thoroughly upheld
while conducting an inter-Europe arrest.
The difference in provisions for arrests can also be present in different countries. The United
States has much higher police brutality cases than many other countries. Unlike in the US,
police in Sweden are very centralized hence having uniform arrest procedures (Maizland,
2020). According to the Council on Foreign Relations cited above, different countries have
different structures to their police system (centralized and de-centralized), funding differs to
some extent, and approach to first responders is also changing with some countries prioritizing
mental health wellness instead of making arrests.

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EPortfolio Project: George Floyd’s death
Describe the approach or model of police performance used
The model that a police performance at a given crime scene is loosely based on the following;
suspect characteristics, suspect's age, suspect's ethnicity,...