George Floyd’s family gathering in Minneapolis, bracing for Derek Chauvin murder trial with ‘whole world watching’
George Floyd died a brutal and lonely death under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis last May.
Now, his relatives are bracing for the former officer’s murder trial set to start Monday under an intense spotlight.
“Imagine losing a loved one and having to sit through something like this. All by itself it’s enough. Now imagine the whole world is watching,” Tera McGee Brown, a first cousin who lived with Floyd when they were kids in Houston, told the Daily News.
“There’s a lot of emotion and anxiety building up,” she said of the upcoming proceeding, which will start with jury selection expected to last several weeks.
“We know it’s going to be hard, having to watch it all play out, having to relive everything all over again,” she said of the family. “We’re all relying on each other, leaning on each other.”
McGee Brown, 48, said she planned to travel from Texas to Minneapolis this weekend.
Only one relative at a time will be allowed to face Chauvin in the courtroom due to COVID restrictions, but the family members can rotate, the Hennepin County judge overseeing the case ruled.
The case will otherwise be streamed live, with planned gavel-to-gavel coverage on Court TV, Law&Crime and fox9.com/live.
McGee Brown said she wants everyone to know that Floyd, a father of five who died May 25 at age 46, was a beloved member of their family who famously gave the “best hugs.”
“Our family is rooted in North Carolina, but when his mom moved to Houston after marriage, my mom moved to be with her,” she said.
“He and I were nearest in age growing up. He was my playmate, my very first best friend. We were very close,” she said.
She’s trying not to worry, but she knows Chauvin’s lawyers will do whatever they can to defend the now-fired officer who’s been charged with second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. On Friday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered a judge to reconsider adding a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin.
“I mean, we all saw the same thing on the video. But I also know that in court, there’s a certain way they narrow down to certain evidence. And things don’t necessarily play out the way you expect,” she said.
“I just hope people will get to see the right evidence and justice will be served,” she said. “It’s been a long road.”
Chauvin, who turns 45 later this month, faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
According to prosecutors, he knelt on Floyd’s neck for “approximately nine minutes” as the unarmed and handcuffed Black man gasped for breath.
Floyd was detained on suspicion of a nonviolent crime — possibly passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
“Please don’t shoot me, Mr. Officer,” Floyd pleaded as two cops pulled him from his car. He had survived a gunshot wound before and appeared to be suffering a panic attack.
When 17-year-old bystander Darnella Frazier started recording the deadly arrest, Floyd was facedown, prone on the pavement with Chauvin pressing into his neck in sickening silence.
“Please. Please. Please, I can’t breathe,” Floyd cried.
“Mama! Mama!” he called out for his recently deceased mother.
Floyd was unresponsive in cardiac arrest when Chauvin finally relented so a stretcher could take him from the scene.
His horrific death touched off protests and clashes with riot cops that ended with devastating fires in Minneapolis and the destruction of a police station.
Three other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao — have also been charged in the case and are due to stand trial in August.
They’ve pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter for their alleged roles helping to restrain Floyd and standing watch.
Concrete barriers and barbed wire have gone up around the courthouse in anticipation of the trial. The city is spending $1 million on the military-style barricades and fortifications for its five police precincts for the duration of the trial, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
A Black business owner whose Lake St. pharmacy was destroyed by fire and water but is now open again said he’s worried about what the jury will ultimately hear and decide.
“As community members, we’re very anxious about the trial. We’re emotionally drained by the whole ordeal. But we stand with George Floyd’s family,” Elias Usso told The News.
“George Floyd was an innocent man, that’s undeniable. He was not supposed to get trapped by that rogue officer and die. That’s not even a question,” he said.
