MINNEAPOLIS – Nearly a year after he was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, members of George Floyd’s family discussed their civil lawsuit against the city and the four former police officers charged with his death during a news briefing Friday.
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Just ahead of the family’s news conference, news broke that the city of Minneapolis agreed to agreed to pay $27 million to settle the civil lawsuit.
More: Minneapolis to pay $27M to settle Floyd family lawsuit
The lawsuit conference comes as the trial of former police Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin -- who knelt on Floyd’s neck for about 9 minutes during an arrest in May of 2020 -- is officially underway. Attorneys involved in the trial have been questioning potential jurors this week.
Judge Peter Cahill seated two more jurors Wednesday to go with the three picked Tuesday for Chauvin’s trial on second-degree murder, manslaughter and -- as of Thursday -- third-degree murder charges. A judge on Thursday granted prosecutors’ request to add a third-degree murder count against the officer charged in Floyd’s death, offering jurors an additional option for conviction and resolving an issue that might have delayed his trial for months.
The Floyd family’s appearance also comes just after the U.S. House passed legislation in an attempt to prevent future killings of and violence toward citizens, particularly minorities, by law enforcement.
This week, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which is designed to end racial and religious profiling, in addition to banning dangerous police practices like choke holds and no-knock warrants. Some believe that the legislation is a step in the right direction, but critics claim that the police reform outlined in the bill are insufficient and ineffective at actually preventing over policing, violence and death.
Related: Metro Detroit activists say work is far from over as Derek Chauvin’s trial begins