HOUSTON — George Floyd’s family in Houston said the video of his final moments is murder caught on camera. The now-viral cell phone video shows a white Minneapolis police officer pinning Floyd down by kneeling on his neck.
“The first time I heard him say 'I can’t breathe,' it was more than I could take,” said Shareeduh Tate, Floyd’s cousin.
The family was devastated and shocked to see Floyd’s calls for help go ignored. So were the public’s pleas to help him breathe and get off his neck.
“It’s unbelievable, unbelievable to see someone suffer in the way that he did,” said Tera Brown, another cousin.
Floyd was working in Minneapolis, but Houston was home.
The family tells KHOU 11 News Floyd was well-known and beloved in the Third Ward.
“He was everybody’s favorite everything, favorite friend and favorite cousin,” said Brown.
Floyd graduated from Jack Yates High School and played on the 1993 state champion football team.
“He was actively starting; rotated tight end and wide receiver,” said Donnell Cooper, a former classmate like so many others who were stunned to learn of his death. “Everybody I’ve talked to has been appalled at the video."
Bishop James Dixon, a family spokesperson, says the video is fueling and heartbreak. He expects more protests in Houston in the coming days.
“Tonight, we’ve got a dead citizen—a citizen, a son of Houston, Texas—and all Houstonians should be equally outraged,” Dixon said.
Officers were arresting George for what police called a non-violent forgery.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday the four officers seen in that cell phone video have been fired.
Ben Crump, the family’s attorney, says the should be charged with murder.
