Day 68: The Shot Unheard Around the World

The trial about the death of Minnesota resident George Floyd began today. He was handcuffed and pinned to the ground in the prone position for more than nine minutes, on May 25, 2020, after he was arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a local convenience store.

It was less than a few months after the pandemic was officially declared in the U.S. and amid increasing protests about police brutality — disproportionate use of deadly force on and arrests of Black, Latinx and Indigenous citizens. The protests swelled worldwide as videos of Floyd’s death went viral on social media and in traditional news.

Thousands of people at a time took to the streets in cities around the globe and the tension and Covid-related shut downs have compelled a racial reckoning that was likely much of the impetus behind the record number of voters who voted in Biden-Harris.

An autopsy report showed that Floyd had Covid-19 — something he told the police officers that day, while he pleaded for his life. He said he couldn’t breathe as one officer kneeled on his neck. None of them had on masks and Floyd, a former security guard, was recently unemployed due to the pandemic.

He was 46.

Earlier this month, the Minneapolis City Council awarded his family $27 million in a civil settlement, the largest of its kind.

The courthouse is under enhanced security for the duration of the trial — expected to go as long as four weeks — and the Biden-Harris Administration is urging states to reinstate mask mandates, hoping to stay ahead of spikes in Covid spread, related to protests or not.