George Floyd Revisited

“In this case, the media and the Left wrongfully accused four officers before any of the facts were known. They helped stir the outrage that left Minneapolis in ruins for reasons that hardly resembled the truth… Now that more than two years have passed, people are starting to realize how we've been duped and divided. It seems some people are starting to ask the questions we should’ve been asking all along.” – They’re Lying

At the intersection of Chicago Ave. and 38^th Street in Minneapolis, at the eponymously named George Floyd Square, artwork continues to be exhibited in remembrance of the man who died on the side of the road on Memorial Day in 2020.  Performative symbolism swept the nation, with kneeling, a new National Anthem, and calls to defund the police, resulting in skyrocketing crime.  Through winged murals, statues, scholarships, dance performances, and legislation, George Floyd continues to be beatified as he makes his way to sainthood.  Despite the Gentle Giant’s lengthy rap sheet, a political opportunity would make a hero out of a criminal. 

In Liz Collin’s 2022 book, “They’re Lying”, Collins, a Minnesota investigative reporter, retells the story of the death of George Floyd, this time with facts on the ground, unknown or untold during the heat of the moment, when Democrats and their left leaning allies in the media, crafted a narrative driven account of systemic racism in the country’s police departments.  With her unique role as both a local journalist and the wife of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Union Representative, Collins exposes the manufactured tale, providing factual details of what really happened for the first time.  After all the propaganda, spin, misinformation, and cover-ups, the final story of George Floyd's death looks very different.  In a rush to judgment, lies became facts, until the fabrications were irreversible.   

George Floyd, a career criminal, was stopped by Minneapolis police on Monday, May 25, 2020, Memorial Day, after using a counterfeit bill to pay for cigarettes.  Finding Floyd behind the wheel of his car under the unquestionable influence of drugs, Floyd became uncooperative and resisted arrest. Eventually restrained using police-sanctioned and city-approved Policy 5-316: Maximal Restraint Technique (MRT), its use would become the defining issue at trial.  By the next day, all four attending officers would be fired before the required investigation had even begun.  Charges would arrive four days later on May 29, despite a refusal to release bodycam evidence for months, while a viral Facebook cell phone video of the arrest remained unchallenged.

The police chief, the city mayor, and the state governor immediately set the narrative of police brutality and racism, long before the evidence was collected.  The result: race riots that began in Minneapolis with the burning of the 3^rd police precinct, the destruction of 1500 businesses, and the death of four people, before the lawlessness spread throughout the country, and then the world, where dozens more would lose their lives.  Several county attorneys would withdraw from the case due to professional and ethical rules and the extreme pressure to charge officers with a crime.  Months later, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison would confirm that since there was no explicit motive or bias for race, there were no hate crime charges filed in the case. 

The police chief made it a federal matter when he ceded to the FBI and then involved faith leaders and activists to manufacture the necessary optics, even though no evidence existed that race was a factor in the arrest.  The Democratic Governor and Mayor took sides, acknowledging “righteous anger by people of conscience”, even proclaiming an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence barely two weeks later.  By then, it would be too late.  The narrative had held.  George Floyd had used the magic words, “I can’t breathe”, the same words Eric Garner used in 2014, when he died at the hands of a New York policeman. 

Finally, a tainted trial would seal the fate of Derek Chauvin and his three accomplices.  During jury selection, the city of Minneapolis publicly surrendered to a payout of 27 million dollars in a civil lawsuit to the family of George Floyd, as courthouse theatrics included concrete barriers and National Guard soldiers.  The woke Chief of Police would deny MRT was a policy of the MPD, despite its presence in the manual, calling Chauvin’s restraint a chokehold, while the MRT demonstration photo from the manual would be banned by the judge.  Likewise, a dispatch error that delayed the response of EMS and the fire department would also not be allowed at trial, despite officers contacting EMS within 36 seconds following Floyd's restraint maneuver to the ground.  Rather than seeking justice, the city attorneys seemed poised to deliver an election-year win for the democrats at any cost. 

A sex discrimination suit by a Hennepin County attorney would reveal in a deposition that the medical examiner, the day following Floyd’s death, said, “What happens when the actual evidence doesn’t match up with the public narrative that everyone’s already decided on?  This is the kind of case that ends careers.”  The results of the autopsy revealed no medical indication of asphyxia, strangulation, or bruises from Chauvin’s knee on Floyd's neck or back.  In fact, the cause of death was determined to be multifactorial due to three factors: 1. coronary heart disease; 2. stimulants in his system; and 3. exertion caused by the encounter.  A toxicology report would follow, indicating the presence of methamphetamine and fentanyl at a lethal dose.  Certainly, the autopsy results indicate that Floyd was worse for wear after a life of drugs and hard living, which created the preexisting health conditions that contributed to his death.  Bodycam video makes it clear that Floyd’s resistance caused the need for more excessive restraints, adding to his own demise. 

Unfortunately, George Floyd lost his life, ending any hope of personal redemption. 

When anyone dies in state custody, questions must be asked.  Whether the MRT hold on Floyd contributed to his death, we will never know.  Never letting an opportunity go to waste, the media twisted the George Floyd arrest into a political narrative in a presidential election year, destroying careers and ruining lives.