SEAN HANNITY-EX-HOUSE PAINTER TURNED CON MAN SHOULD BE FIRED NOW

 Sean Patrick Hannity^[3] (born December 30, 1961)^[4] is an American talk show host and conservative^[5] political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and also hosts a commentary program, Hannity, on Fox News.

Hannity worked as a general contractor and volunteered as a talk show host at UC Santa Barbara in 1989. He later joined WVNN in Athens, Alabama and shortly afterward, WGST in Atlanta. After leaving WGST, he worked at WABC in New York until 2013. Since 2014, Hannity has worked at WOR.^[6]

In 1996, Hannity and Alan Colmes co-hosted Hannity & Colmes on Fox. After Colmes announced his departure in January 2008, Hannity merged the Hannity & Colmes show into Hannity.^[7]

Hannity has received several awards and honors, including an honorary degree from Liberty University. He has written three New York Times best-selling books: Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism; Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism; and Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama's Radical Agenda, and released a fourth, Live Free or Die, in 2020.^[8]

Hannity has sometimes promoted conspiracy theories, such as "birtherism" (claims that then-President Barack Obama was not a legitimate U.S. citizen), claims regarding the murder of Seth Rich, and falsehoods about Hillary Clinton's health. Hannity was an early supporter of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Hannity often acted as an unofficial spokesman for the president,^[9] criticizing the media, attacking the special counsel inquiry,^[10] and discouraging social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.^[11] He reportedly speaks to Trump on the phone most weeknights.^[12] He has spoken at the president's lectern during a Trump rally, and White House advisors have characterized him as the "shadow" chief of staff.^[13] According to Forbes, by 2018 Hannity had become one of the most-watched hosts in cable news and most-listened-to hosts in talk radio, due in part to his closeness and access to Trump.^[12)

^{Attribution Wikipedia}

^{Hannity is the one of the country's worst specimens of humanity.}  

^{He has about one hundred million loyal, brainwashed viewers} 

^{hanging on his every word.}    

          

^{This TV entertainer (he is not a newsman) stands solidly} 

^{behind the ourageous lies of} 

^{Donald Trump and his followers that the 2020}

^{presidential election was stolen.} 

Hannity is playing a con game on 75 million voters like Trump plays. He promotes falsehoods and lies just as Trump does. That way he can keep his job with Fox and keep making  hundreds of millions supporting every fanatic right wing position Trump and Fox support.

 

Advertisers who have not yet left @foxnews can keep getting bang for their buck by buying ads on Fox. 

BUT, IT'S DIRTY MONEY

No decent advertiser should spend a penny supporting anti-American people and orginazations. Many are seeing the light. 

Sean Hannity started in business in 1962 as a house painter and than became a general contractor while breaking into radio. He is nothing but a fast talking tin man and con man.

This guy does not deserve the monetary benefits his faithful but misguided audience delivers to Fox.  

Fox and Hannity can exploit people who do not accept reality. They should not be allowed to do that.

He should be dumped like a can of used paint.

Sean Hannity is a bad man. 

Fox News is a bad place.

.

BEING BULLIED IS A LIFETIME SENTENCE OF TORMENT

 

I was just a little five year old boy waiting in line to be let into my first grade class. It was 1953 at a Chicago Elementary school named De-Witt Clinton located on the north side of the city where I grew up.

It was the first day of the semester and I did not know many of the forty or so kids in line also waiting to go to their first day of class.  

For no reason a boy I had never seen before walked in front of me and said "Hey kid, ever been kicked in the balls?"

"No", I innocently answered.

 He then kicked me squarely in my small crotch. I doubled over in pain, went down, and started to cry.

 As I caught my breath and stood up the last thing on my mind was hitting or retaliating against him. I was too scared and ashamed. 

The other kids standing around laughed at my misery. They taunted me mercilessly. "Fight, fight, fight," they screamed.

I felt humiliated and victimized.

I already knew what bullying was and had seen it done to others.

I knew I had been had.

Instinctively, I knew that attacking Larry, who was standing there laughing, was theonly move but I was too afraid to act.

I could not overcome that horrid feeling of being afraid to fight..

That was the first time I remember being bullied. It would not be the last. 

Many others also bullied me throughout my life.  

I did not stand up for myself or others countless times because I was scared to. Being intimidated became part of my soul.

That nauseating feeling of fear turned out to be the core of my frightened existence.

 Being intimidated and cowardly has been the paralyzing demon that has controlled my mind.  Either actions or words can cow me.

After being targeted continually I learned quickly that bullies can  be dealt with by guys with the courage to fight which I did not have. 

I never learned until much later there were other ways to deal with bullies. 

 So, I became more and more incapacitated around people who I judged to be tough and macho.

 A bullying victim must suffer devastating consequences both internally and externally. I did and do.

Even after much therapy and understanding that my fears of being bullied are usually irrational and incorrect it did not change the self loathing I have always felt.

Much later in life I would intentionally face terrifying and dangerous situations to rid myself of the feeling of being a coward.

I faced and fought bullies.

 I would feel better for a while or conversely make a situation much worse when retaliating against someone who I thought had physically or mentally bullied me.

Either way, the feeling of fear always returned. 

Another bully has always been there because the real bully is my mind.

 I have not been able to live with the incurable emotion that I will always be vulnerable around people who intimidate me.

I have struggled valiantly to the point that I now have to resist the impulse to fight rather then surrender to it.

 Like any addiction (ocd) demands resisting an urge. I am better now but it is like carrying boulders on my shoulders each day.

It is always flight or fight in my tormented mind. It's a paradox because whether I fight or fly the cowardly feeling in me waits patiently to take charge again. 

Now, it's mostly words and deeds rather than physical action. But, it is all the same in my brain.

My life is all about relieving that intimidated feeling that never rests. The answer lies in self acceptance. 

It can be found at times and than vanishes.

I'm perpetually on guard for any situation where I fear I may get that cowardly feeling in my stomach and mistakenly think that only facing fear will relieve it.

 Allowing the feeling of fear to desensitize without doing anything is the real answer.  That comes with much therapy. (ocd)  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is tough as nails to battle but therapy works. 

I learned that the real objective is to accept the fearful feelings and not flee from them but let them live without becoming paralyzed by them.

 I continue the endless battle to not react to those around me who instill fear in me.

  Now, not acting out is my answer but I cannot ever forget what Larry did to me.

.

TRUMPS BIG LIE AND REPUPPYLICKANS LICKING TRUMP

Should we call Trump Republicans the "Repuppylickans" because they are like scared little puppy dogs following Donald Trump around waiting get some of his love?

Naw, I do not want to insult dogs. Dogs are usually loyal and friendly. Trump is garbage.

Is this country now politically split into two enemies, not two parties?

Are the Repuppylickans against everything the Democrats are for?

What happened? I mean the joke is over. Trump lost the 2020 election and Democracy is supposed to make a comeback. The wounds should be healing and common sense is supposed to be returning.

Instead, we have the"big lie" that the election was stolen from Trump.

You have about half the country who are Trump supporters sticking to that devilish fantasy despite indisputable, airtight evidence that the "big lie" is just that.

No matter, the believers of Trumps big lie are so brainwashed and closed minded that they cannot bring themselves to accept that Trump lost fair and square.

More inconceivable is that all sane politicians know Joe Biden is the President. 

But, almost every Republican is so scared of Trump and his supposed power over what were his seventy five million followers that these cowardly morons run around trying not to deny Trump lost.

They are sickeningly afraid to tell the truth because they believe Trump will bury them among their supporters if they do.

Then, they will lose lots of easy money and perks.

It is tragic. But, just like killer cop Chauvin, the jig will soon be up.

Then, Trump will be banished at best and likely humiliated, broke, and in prison.

Here's hoping.

PUTIN KILLING ALEXEL NAVALNY WHILE U.S. COWARDS QUIET

 Those Mother F...... Russians are letting patriot Alexel Navalny die now. Speak up gutless McConnell, McCarthy, Jordan, Gaetz etc.

Tell Putin what a piece of s... he is for letting Navalny die. Speak out as human beings instead of lap dogs. Attack Putin boldly like you attacked everyone who opposes POS Trump.

Can you? Would you? How gutless are you.

Help our President Joe Biden. Do your job as supporters of the constitution instead of opposers to the constitution.

Too scary for you and your cowardly Republicans to even consider? Tell your master Trump to do something about Navalny. I am sure he cares greatly. LOL. He is a fine American like all of you supporters and puppets.

Pathetically, you would rather fight with Democrats or anyone else about your idiotic approaches to subjects like coronavirus vaccine, equal rights, stimulis payments, unemployment rather than doing productive things.

Stop wasting your time and taxpayer money and start caring about America or quit and find real jobs.

Work, you lazy pieces of garbage.

Or quit.

Or, go buy Putin and Trump an ice cream cone so they will be happy with you.

David's Place: COMPULSIVE GAMBLING CAN BE STOPPED

David's Place: COMPULSIVE GAMBLING CAN BE STOPPED:   COMPULSIVE GAMBLING: AN UNCONDITIONAL LOVER The adrenaline, the euphoria, the joy of knowing you will be in action is enough to inspire...

COMPULSIVE GAMBLING CAN BE STOPPED

 

COMPULSIVE GAMBLING: AN UNCONDITIONAL LOVER

The adrenaline, the euphoria, the joy of knowing you will be in action is enough to inspire any gambler to gamble again and again or no matter how much they have lost. I am not just talking about lost money. I am talking about lost health, family,and friends.

About losing everything that matters.

I gambled for over 60 years and lost it all. In the last nine years I have quit gambling and slowly rebuilt my life. Yet, I continue to long for my greatest friend and unconditional lover. Gambling.

Now, I am no longer owned by that urge. I own it. I only own it onlyday at a time. So, I stay on guard and keep working with other compulsive gamblers continually or I know I am doomed. Each day I commit to not gambling that day get to the next day without making a bet.

Compusive gambling is an incurable, lifelong disease.That is the bad news. The could new the condition can be arrested. You can stop.

It's not easy but it's much better than going to jail, an asylum, or the cemetary.

I was a very big gambler betting on sports, craps, blackjack, or anything at all everyday. I would win or lose thousands of dollars. I have lost well over a million dollars before I stopped gambling over eleven years ago in 2009.

I lost everything including my priceless soul.

The addiction of compulsive gambling is the same for all affected whether one bets nickels or millions of dollars.We are powerless. Gamblers cannot stop. Help is needed.

The help comes from joining Gamblers Anonymous (GA) which is a totally free fellowship..

No one stops gambling on their own permanently. Will power alone will not make it. I tried many times and would stop for a few months or longer.

But, the urge to gamble waited patiently to take me down again and again I would stay abstinent for one month to three years. Eventually, I would start gambling.

I could not understand that I needed the help of other compulsive gamblers to quit gambling permanently\ I always thought I could stop on my own. I never wanted to. So, I would say I was different.

Being destroyed financially, mentally, and emotionally was not enough to stop me. . The monster inside my brain and every other compulsive gamblers brain still lives on unaffected by logic and reason. It says come back to me. I love you no matter what the circumstances are.

It says "You can do it David. You can set limits, you can avoid going out of control and just enjoy the thrill of being in action. like a normal person..”

Simultaneously, my rational mind keeps speaking the painful truth constantly saying. “you are powerless., you cannot stop gambling on your own”. My compulsive gambling mental illness is much smarter and stronger than my will.

You are doomed if you gamble David.”

I do know that now. The gambling demon in my brain does not go away. It never will.

But, the evil voice tears at my irrational mind and says "just do it.” You will be okay My logical mind needs constant reinforcement to say no to that urge everyday of my life. It says "David, you have tried to stop gambling and cannot do it alone" Go to a gamblers anonymous meeting, call your GA. friends.

My abnormal mind is a powerful, self destructive force that needs no nourishment. It never starves and is endlessly patient. It waits and waits tirelessly inside myself and inside every other compulsive gambler. It says "Come to me David. You want me"

It stalks me and tempts me like the sick, twisted, sociopath it is.

My solution, my lifelong answer came when I started to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings regularly which are filled with people just like me. I faithfully attend GA meetings weekly, every week, no matter what else is happening. My GA meetings are the biggest responsibility I have.

Meetings come before work, family, or anything else because I know that gambling will either drive me insane, put me in jail, or kill me.

So, I know that my life depends on not gambling and I need the support of other compulsive gamblers continually. I stay abstinent by going to meetings and sharing my feelings with other gamblers whether young or old whether they have been abstinent for one day or thirty years.

I know that I need the positive reinforcement I get from being at GA meetings which are plentiful all over the country and the world. Just Google gamblers anonymous. Call the emergency phone service or have someone call for you. People who are compulsive gamblers understand each other.

I work the 12 steps of recovery with a sponsor and at group meetings. I deal with personal defects that caused me endless pain and suffering from gambling. Only from GA can I get the strength and support of others just like me who help me through each day.

Compulsive Gamblers all share the same feelings. Only other compulsive gamblers understand each other regardless of age, nationality, beliefs or any other denominator. We are all the same because we are powerless over gambling and our lives are unmanageable. It's an easy concept to understand but tough to accept and stick with. But, thousands of men and women are recovering compulsive gamblers.

Look up Gamblers Anonymous online and find out where to call and where the local meetings are in your area. Google it. There are thousands of meetings throughout the country everyday of the year.

.There is a free, twenty four hour a day non stop helpline that can be called by anyone, anytime. Try it.

I have not gambled a penny since January 9, 2009.

If I can stop anybody can.

But, only with help.

You can only but only if you don't play.

Gambling is my deadly lover who I never intend to return to.

Compulsive gambling is the devil.

GEORGE FLOYD IS DEAD BUT SPEAKS LOUDLY TO POLICE

 Derek Michael Chauvin is an American former police officer undergoing a trial on murder charges in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020. Wikipedia

Born: March 19, 1976 (age 45 years), Oakdale, MN

Nationality: American

Full name: Derek Michael Chauvin

Spouse: Kellie Chauvin (m. 2010–2021)

Known for: Involvement in the killing of George Floyd

Education: Metropolitan State University (2006), Park High School, Dakota County Technical College

Chauvin has been sitting in the defendants courtroom chair looking looking like a beast and not a human being. He has shown no external  emotion, humanity, or reactions after almost two weeks of hearing everyone testify and present evidence about what a monster he was to Floyd and others in his career.

I only see on television a tranqualized looking animal seemingly guilty of nonchalantly sitting on George Floyds neck for over nine minutes therby killing him..

He appeared oblivious to the fact that he was terminating Floyd in broad daylight only a few feet away from other cops and bystanders who were screaming and yelling at him to stop the murder. 

If prosecutors thought he intended to kill Floyd they would have entered a plea of temporary insanity to  defend this guy. 

But, they did not, after exploring everything about his about Chauvins twenty years on the Minneapolis police force. So, Chauvin must be legally sane.

His record shows many complaints and a few commendations. Presumably, at times he did his job correctly by defending citizens  and many other times complaints were made against him when he was abusive in his treatment of people. 

But, he never before acted like a killer. Chauvin joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 2001.^[13][17] He received a medal for valor in 2006 for being one of several officers who fired on a suspect who pointed a shotgun at them, and another in 2008 for a domestic-violence incident in which he broke down a door and shot a suspect who reached for his pistol.^[18][19] 

He received a commendation medal in 2008 after he and his partner tackled a fleeing suspect holding a pistol. He received a commendation medal in 2009 after working off-duty as a security guard for a nightclub.^[16]

Misconduct complaints

Chauvin had 18 complaints on his official record, two of which ended in discipline, including official letters of reprimand.^[20] He had been involved in three police shootings, one of which was fatal.^{[17][21][22][23]} According to the former owner of El Nuevo Rodeo, a Latin nightclub, Chauvin had worked there off duty as security while George Floyd was also working as security, but was not certain whether they knew each other.^[24][25] 

The owner has been critical of Chauvin since his arrest, describing Chauvin's tactics as "overkill" and saying "Chauvin was unnecessarily aggressive on nights when the club had a black clientele, quelling fights by dousing the crowd with pepper spray and calling in several police squad cars as backup".^[16] 

The owner also said Chauvin responded to fights by spraying the crowd with mace instead of dealing with those who were fighting.

It is likely that Chauvin was another angry and ignorant cop who liked using his power whenever he could to abuse people. He was turned on by authority and control like many other policemen who belong in jail instead of roaming around loose endangering people just because they like to. 

 I believe that Chauvin is a miserable, sadistic, low life who should never have even been put on the police force. 

He is just like so many other cops out there who are like Chauvin but luckily for them they do not get exposed.

My big question is why does the defense not put Chauvin on the stand to testify for himself? Even if the defense attorneys believe that Chauvin would come off to the jury worse than he has already been made out to be so be it.

I do not think his sentence if he is convicted would change very much. 

What does he have to lose? 

The jury has listened to testimony and seen evidence that portrays Chauvin as an inhumane creature who has no use for honest, ethical police work and victims. 

He appears to be just the animal we have seen who casually sat on George Floyds neck for over nine minutes killing him by blocking his oxygen. Seems like he is a bad guy.

 I have not seen one display of emotion from Chauvins body movements or facial rxpressions that indicates he is anymore than the savage he has been presented to be. 

However, if Chauvin has any redeeming qualities that might impress the one juror he needs who may rescue him from a unanimous guilty verdict carrying a long sentence then they should let Chauvin testify no matter how terrible of a witness he is.

 It does not seem he coud destroy himself anymore then the evidence against him already has. It seems that he has no possible way to get any sympathy from the jury without talking.

 If he can speak and represent himself as a human being with emotions and felings that may help him. 

If not, it seems that he will not get much more time in jail then he will get by not testifying.

I despise this cop and every other vicious cop out there. They are worse then those they arrest because they get to break the law legally with a badge and gun.

But, I am fascinated with stories like this.

I would like to hear Derek Chauvin tell the court why he killed George Floyd and whatever else he wants to say to possibly save his soul. 

 

It is no closure for anyone if Chauvin does not testify.

David's Place: GEORGE PERRY FLOYD JR-PART OF HIS LIFE STORY

David's Place: GEORGE PERRY FLOYD JR-PART OF HIS LIFE STORY:   George Perry Floyd Jr.   (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an   African American   man   killed during an arrest   after a store clerk...

GEORGE PERRY FLOYD JR-PART OF HIS LIFE STORY

 George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African American man killed during an arrest after a store clerk alleged he had passed a counterfeit $20 bill in Minneapolis. Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.^[2] After his death, protests against police brutality, especially towards Black people, quickly spread across the United States and internationally.

Floyd grew up in Houston, playing football and basketball throughout high school and college. He was a hip hop artist and served as a mentor in his religious community. Between 1997 and 2005, he was convicted of eight crimes. He served four years in prison after accepting a plea bargain for a 2007 aggravated robbery in a home invasion.^[3] In 2014, he moved to the Minneapolis area, residing in the nearby suburb of St. Louis Park, and worked as a truck driver and bouncer. In 2020, he lost his job as a truck driver, and then his security job during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The City of Minneapolis settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Floyd's family for $27 million. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on Floyd's neck and back, began on March 8, 2021. The trial of the other three officers at the scene of his death is scheduled for August 2021.

Contents

• 1Early life and education
• 2Later life
• 3Death
• 4Memorials and legacy
• 5Personal life
• 6See also
• 7Notes
• 8References
• 9Further reading
• 10External links

Early life and education

Floyd was born on October 14, 1973, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to George Perry and Larcenia "Cissy" Jones Floyd.^[4][5] He had four siblings.^[6][7][8]

When he was two, after Floyd's parents separated, his mother moved with the children to the Cuney Homes public housing,^[9][10][11] known as Bricks, in Houston's Third Ward, a historically African-American neighborhood.^[4][5][9] Floyd was called Perry as a child, but also Big Floyd; being over six feet (183 cm) tall in middle school, he saw sports as a vehicle for improving his life.^[9]

Floyd attended Ryan Middle School,^[12] and graduated from Yates High School in 1993. While at Yates, he was co-captain of the basketball team playing as a power forward. He was also on the football team as a tight end, and in 1992, his team went to the Texas state championships.^{[4][7][9][10]}

The first of his siblings to go to college, Floyd attended South Florida Community College for two years on a football scholarship, and also played on the basketball team.^[9][13][14] He transferred to Texas A&M University–Kingsville in 1995, where he also played basketball before dropping out.^[15][16][17] At his tallest he was 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm)^[18][19][20] though by the time of his autopsy he was 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) tall and weighed 223 pounds (101 kg).^[21]

Later life

Floyd returned to Houston from college in Kingsville, Texas, in 1995 and became an automotive customizer and played club basketball.^[15][22] Beginning in 1994, he performed as a rapper using the stage name Big Floyd in the hip-hop group Screwed Up Click.^{[23][24][25][26]} The New York Times described his deep-voiced rhymes as "purposeful", delivered in a slow-motion clip about "'choppin' blades' – driving cars with oversize rims – and his Third Ward pride."^[9] The second rap group he was involved in was "Presidential Playas" and he worked on their album Block Party released in 2000.^[27][28] An influential member of his community, Floyd was respected for his ability to relate with others in his environment based on a shared experience of hardships and setbacks, having served time in prison and living in a poverty-struck project in Houston.^[29] In a video addressing the youth in his neighborhood, Floyd reminds his audience that he has his own "shortcomings" and "flaws" and that he isn't better than anyone else, but also expresses his disdain for the violence that was taking place in the community, and advises his neighbors to put down their weapons and remember that they are loved by him and God.^[29]

Between 1997 and 2005, Floyd served eight jail terms on various minor charges, including drug possession, theft, and trespass.^{[3][9][7][note 1]} In 2007, Floyd faced charges for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon; according to investigators, he had entered an apartment by impersonating a water department worker and barging in with five other men, then held a pistol to a woman's stomach and searched for items to steal.^[11][30][31] Floyd was arrested three months later during a traffic stop and victims of the robbery identified him from a photo array.^[31] In 2009, he was sentenced to five years in prison as part of a plea deal^[30][32][33] and was paroled in January 2013.^[15] After Floyd's release, he became more involved with Resurrection Houston, a Christian church and ministry, where he mentored young men and posted anti-violence videos to social media.^{[4][9][34][35]} He delivered meals to senior citizens and volunteered with other projects, such as the Angel By Nature Foundation, a charity founded by rapper Trae tha Truth.^[36] Later he became involved with a ministry that brought men from the Third Ward to Minnesota in a church-work program with drug rehabilitation and job placement services.^[9] A friend of Floyd acknowledged that Floyd "had made some mistakes that cost him some years of his life," but that he had been turning his life around through religion.^[29]

In 2014, Floyd moved to Minneapolis to help rebuild his life and find work.^[37][38] Soon after his arrival, he completed a 90-day rehabilitation program at the Turning Point program in north Minneapolis. Floyd expressed the need for a job and took up security work at Harbor Light Center, a Salvation Army homeless shelter.^[31] He lost the job at Harbor Light and took up several other jobs. Floyd hoped to earn a commercial driver's license to operate trucks. He passed the required drug test and administrators of the program felt his criminal past did not pose a problem, but he dropped out as his job at a nightclub made it difficult to attend morning classes, and he felt pressure to earn money. Floyd later moved to St. Louis Park and lived with former colleagues.^[31] Floyd continued to battle drug addiction and went through periods of use and sobriety.^[31]

In May 2019, Floyd was detained by Minneapolis police when an unlicensed car he was a passenger in was pulled over in a traffic stop. Floyd was found with a bottle of pain pills. Officers handcuffed Floyd and took him to the city's third police precinct station. Floyd told police he did not sell the pills and that they were related to his own addiction. When Floyd appeared agitated, officers encouraged him to relax and helped calm him down, and they later called an ambulance as they grew worried about his condition. No charges were filed in connection with the incident.^[31]

In 2019, George Floyd worked security at the El Nuevo Rodeo club, where police officer Derek Chauvin also worked off-duty as a security guard.^[39]

In 2020, Floyd was working part time as a security guard at the Conga Latin Bistro club, and began another job as a delivery driver. Floyd lost the delivery driver job in January after being cited for driving without a valid commercial license and for being involved in a minor crash. He was looking for another job when the COVID-pandemic hit Minnesota, and his personal financial situation worsened when the club closed in mid March due to pandemic rules.^[31] In April of that year, Floyd contracted COVID-19 himself, but recovered a few weeks later.^[9][6]

Death

Main article: Killing of George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, Floyd was arrested after allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis.^[40] He died after Derek Chauvin, a White police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds^{[note 2]} during the arrest.^[41] Floyd was handcuffed face down in the street,^[42][43][44] while two other officers further restrained Floyd and a fourth prevented onlookers from intervening.^{[45]:6:24[46][47]} Floyd's restraint and death were captured on a cellphone camera and sparked global protests.^[48] Seventeen minutes into the arrest, Floyd was unconscious.^[49] Repeatedly while pinned under Chauvin's knee, he stated that he couldn't breathe.^[50] During the final two minutes,^[51] Floyd was motionless and had no pulse.^[52][53] Onlookers repeatedly called out for help upon realization of Floyd's struggling.^[49] Though the officers called for medical assistance, they took no action to treat him.^[54]:6:46 Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck and back as emergency medical technicians arrived.^[54]:7:21 The incident was captured on video.^[55]

The medical examiner's final findings,^[56][57] issued June 1,^[58] found that Floyd's heart stopped while he was being restrained and that his death was a homicide^[56] caused by "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression".^[59][58] Fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use may have increased the likelihood of death.^[60][58] Other significant conditions were arteriosclerotic heart disease and hypertensive heart disease.^[61][56] The report states that on April 3 Floyd had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but does not list it as a fatal or other significant condition.^[62][63]

Floyd's family commissioned a second autopsy, carried out by Michael Baden, a pathologist and former New York City chief medical examiner who had previously autopsied Eric Garner, and attended by Allecia Wilson, director of autopsy and forensic services at the University of Michigan Medical School.^[64][65] From the evidence available to them, which did not include a toxicology report or unspecified bodily samples, Baden and Wilson announced on June 1 their finding that Floyd's death was a homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression.^[66][64][61] Also, Floyd had no underlying medical problem that contributed to his death.^[67] Baden said neck compression affected blood flow to the brain^[61] and being able to speak does not mean that someone is able to breathe.^[67]

On March 12, 2021, the Minneapolis city council approved a settlement of $27 million to the Floyd family following a wrongful death lawsuit.^[68]

According to The New York Times, actions taken by the officers during the arrest directly violated Minneapolis Police Department policies.^[69] After Floyd's death, Derek Chauvin was fired and charged with second-degree murder.^[70] The charge was altered to second-degree murder after Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder, as the second-degree charge essentially claims that Floyd's death was "without intent" on Chauvin's part.^[13] According to the Associated Press, the decisive points for the trial will be the questions of whether Chauvin caused George Floyd's death and if what Chauvin did in the situation could be considered reasonable.^[71] Much of the trial's attention is being focused on how exactly Floyd died. Chauvin is being represented by attorney Eric Nelson, who is claiming the likely cause of death is a fentanyl overdose or a possible combination of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and underlying conditions.^[72] For this reason, according to the Associated Press, legal experts say the case will not be a simple one.^[72] One such expert made the statement that, "Although he had him pinned under his knee and he's yelling 'I can't breathe! I can't breathe!' there's an argument that (Chauvin) wasn't exerting pressure and his inability to breathe was due to the drugs in his system or something to that effect, or his anxiety".^[72] Chauvin has denied the charges of murder and manslaughter, which carry sentences of up to 40 years in prison.^[55]