Thousands of mourners lined up in Houston Texas, for the public viewing for George Floyd, ahead of his burial on Tuesday.
African-American Floyd died 25 May in the hands of disgraced Minneapolis ex-police officer, Derek Chauvin.
Floyd’s death since then has ignited a wave of historic protests across the nation.
At the lying in state for Floyd in Texas
In Texas, the mourners lined up to form a procession to Floyd’s coffin inside the Fountain of Praise church.
Others paid their respects at a mural of Floyd on a wall in his old neighbourhood in the city’s Third Ward.
“There’s something special about his life and his family,” said Bevan Walker, 50, as a snapped a photo of the mural. “His name is going to be synonymous with justice for generations to come.”
Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Floyd’s killer made his first court appearance on Monday.
A judge slapped him with a bail of up to $1.25 million.
Chauvin, 44, has been hit with second-degree murder charges for the May 25 death of Floyd, along with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges that allege he caused Floyd’s death through “culpable negligence,” including using a restraint that police are taught is “inherently dangerous.”
During the 11-minute hearing in Hennepin County District Court on Monday, Judge Jeannice Reding set bail at $1.25 million, or $1 million with conditions. If he accepts the conditions, the 44-year-old former officer can not make contact with Floyd’s family, can no longer work in law enforcement or security in the future, and must turn in all personal guns and permits.
“Obviously the death has had a strong reaction in the community, to put it mildly,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank said Monday.
The former officer, who appeared in court via video from Oak Park Heights prison wearing an orange jumpsuit and blue mask, did not enter a plea in the procedural hearing. Chauvin was expected to appear again in court on June 29.
Three other former officers—Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng—have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence.
All four cops were fired May 26, as explosive footage of the botched arrest led to an international outcry and calls for a federal investigation into an incident some called a “legalized lynching.”
‘He Should Be Here’: All Four Officers Now Face Charges Over George Floyd’s Killing
According to Minnesota state law, second-degree murder is not premeditated and prosecutors much prove that while the suspect did not intend to cause death, they committed a felony offense during the incident. The charge typically carries a maximum penalty of 40 years behind bars. The other three officers face a maximum prison sentence of six years.
George Floyd: Family, Mayweather, Jammie Fox, Al Sharpton say the final goodbye (Photos)
Tuesday, June 9, 2020 8:25 pm | Daily News Headlines | 0 Comment(s)
Family and friends, politicians, celebrities civil rights activists gathered to lay George Floyd to rest in his hometown of Houston on Tuesday.
Gospel and poignant tributes capped the long farewell to the 46-year-old African American whose death ignited global protests against police brutality and racism.
Many of the guests joined in sharing memories of the man they called a “gentle giant” before his golden casket was to be conveyed by horse-drawn carriage to his final resting place by his mother’s grave.
Though it was a solemn occasion, The Fountain of Praise Church in southern Houston was filled with joyous music and words of fond remembrance for a kind and gifted man, whose savage death galvanized a worldwide movement.
“George Floyd changed the world. And we are going to make the world know that he made a difference,” Al Green, the local US congressman, told the congregation.
“We have a responsibility to each one of them to make sure that we do not walk away today after having celebrated his life and not taking the next step… to assure the future generations that this won’t happen again,” he added.
Floyd died on May 25 as a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee into his neck for almost nine minutes, his pleas of “I can’t breathe” becoming a rallying cry for protesters.
His death has come to embody fractured relations between communities of colour and police in the US and beyond as tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets.
The Fountain of Praise was the final stage in a series of ceremonies paying tribute to Floyd before he is buried.
In a day that capped more than two weeks of tension around the country, the theme inside the building was one of peace and hope as family members and friends took to the podium to share their grief, with civil rights leader the Reverend Al Sharpton delivering the eulogy.
Flowers were piled high outside the entrance to the church, attended by part of his family, before a portrait of Floyd whose open casket was visited by more than 6,000 well-wishers on Monday.
Some 500 guests — all masked due the coronavirus pandemic — filled the church, including actors Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, as well as boxing champion Floyd Mayweather who reportedly paid all expenses.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who has visited the family, offered words of condolence to Floyd’s children in a video message urging them to “change the world for the better” in their father’s name.
“Today now is the time, the purpose, the season to listen and heal,” said Biden, who suffered his own tragedy with the deaths of a wife and two children.
“Now is time for racial justice… Because when there’s justice for George Floyd we will truly be on our way to racial justice in America.”
The funeral comes after the Minneapolis authorities pledged to dismantle and rebuild the police department in the city where Floyd died during an arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
Derek Chauvin, the 44-year-old white officer who was filmed pressing his knee on the handcuffed Floyd’s neck, faces up to 40 years if convicted on charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Floyd was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Houston’s predominantly African American Third Ward where he was remembered as a towering high school athlete and good-natured friend.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets for two weeks of the most sweeping US protests for racial justice since the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The demonstrations have been marred by several nights of violence that focused attention at home and abroad on police brutality as numerous videos have emerged that allegedly show incidents of heavy-handed policing.
The Democrats have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress, that they hope will make it easier to prosecute officers for abuse, and rethink how they are recruited and trained.
Some US cities have already begun to embrace reforms — starting with bans on the use of tear gas and rubber bullets.
But it is unclear what support the reform bill might find in the Republican-controlled Senate — or whether President Donald Trump would sign such legislation into law.
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