George Floyd

George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis when a police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes.

This has led to protests, sometimes violent, in cities across the country including in Washington D.C. in front of the White House. Trump invited his supporters to come down for a "MAGA rally."

This was a clear call for violence but since Trumpettes are as yellow as French's Mustard, and will only show up if they're the only ones armed, no one took him up on it.

The saga of George Floyd, based upon media reports, police reports and video footage, goes like this:

-- The owner of a convenience store called police alleging that Floyd passed a counterfeit $20 bill.

-- Two officers arrive and talk to Floyd who is in the driver's seat of an SUV. There is also a passenger in the front passenger seat.

-- The two officers arrest Floyd and handcuff him.

-- They take him across the street to their patrol car.

-- A third officer arrives who is sent by the original officers to stay with the passenger in the SUV.

-- According to the police report Floyd begins to purposely fall down.

-- Two more officers, including officer Derek Chauvin, arrive.

-- Floyd is placed in the rear seat of the police car still handcuffed.

-- According to the police report Floyd claims that he is claustrophobic and can't breathe.

-- The police take Floyd out of the police car.

-- Floyd appears to fall to the ground,

-- The officers hold him down. Chauvin is kneeling on his neck, another officer is holding him down by his back and a third officer is holding his legs.

-- Floyd claims he can't breathe and he's told that he's talking OK. The implication being if he can talk then he can breathe.

-- Bystanders, including a white woman and the young son of the shop owner complain to the officers that Floyd appears unresponsive but are ignored.

-- After about nine minutes the officers realize something is wrong and call for paramedics.

-- Floyd is transferred in an ambulance to the hospital where he is pronounced dead.

The initial autopsy report says that Floyd did not die from strangulation or asphyxiation but as the result of underlying medical conditions including hypertension and coronary artery disease. The family has demanded a second independent autopsy which sounds like a really good idea to me.

The officers involved have been fired and Derek Chauvin has been arrested and charged with third degree murder and manslaughter. His wife has filed for divorce. It was not a good day for Chauvin but it was infinitely worse for Floyd.

Clearly the police officers were negligent. The kneeling on the neck bit is, as I understand it, an outlawed technique (Edit #1: but apparently it's NOT banned in Minneapolis) because it's so dangerous.

But this doesn't justify rioting in the streets, looting and burning down stores. Two wrongs don't make a right. Peaceful protests aren't out of place over this travesty but violence is never a good idea.

Making a case against Chauvin isn't going to be easy and it's not clear to why the fourth officer (Edit #2: There were four officers by Floyd. A fifth officer was across the street and, to my knowledge, since his view was obstructed hasn't faced any repercussions) across the street has been fired. His view of what was happening was obscured and his post was by Floyd's SUV.

Where this is going to go once things calm down is anybody's guess. I suppose we shall see what we shall see.