Black Lives Matter: US marks George Floyd's first death anniversary

The United States has marked the first death anniversary of George Floyd, whose death by a police officer, triggered a global rage. President Joe Biden has extended his strong support to legislate the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Washington: The United States has marked the first anniversary of the "murder" of George Floyd, whose death triggered Black Lives Matter movement. Reports said that events to commemorate first death anniversary of Floyd were held across the US by officials and demonstrators. President Joe Biden has extended his strong support to legislate the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Floyd's family members met Biden at the White House while the negotiations on the Act are ongoing.

US President Joe Biden's statement

"Today, in the Oval Office, I met with George Floyd’s family.

Although it has been one year since their beloved brother and father was murdered, for the family – for any family experiencing a profound loss – the first year can still feel like they got the news a few seconds ago. And they’ve had to relive that pain and grief each and every time those horrific 9 minutes and 29 seconds have been replayed.

Yet the Floyd family has shown extraordinary courage, especially his young daughter Gianna, who I met again today. The day before her father’s funeral a year ago, Jill and I met the family and she told me, “Daddy changed the world.”

He has.

His murder launched a summer of protest we hadn’t seen since the Civil Rights era in the ‘60s – protests that peacefully unified people of every race and generation to collectively say enough of the senseless killings.

Last month’s conviction of the police officer who murdered George was another important step forward toward justice. But our progress can’t stop there.

To deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between the vast majority of the men and women who wear the badge honorably and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect. We can and must have both accountability and trust and in our justice system.

The negotiations on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in Congress are ongoing. I have strongly supported the legislation that passed the House, and I appreciate the good-faith efforts from Democrats and Republicans to pass a meaningful bill out of the Senate. It’s my hope they will get a bill to my desk quickly.

We have to act. We face an inflection point. The battle for the soul of America has been a constant push and pull between the American ideal that we’re all created equal and the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart.

At our best, the American ideal wins out.

It must again."

What had happened

Tracing back the events, the 46-year-old man bought a pack of cigarettes at a store in May 2020. The shop assistant suspecting the note he gave to be counterfeit, called police after Floyd refused to give cigarettes back, according to reports.

Police officers handcuffed him, wrestled him to the ground and pinned him under their weight while attempting to put Floyd in their car. Floyd's was pressed on the back of his neck for more than nine minutes by officer Derek Chauvin. Restrained Floyd pleaded more than 20 times that he could not breathe and was later pronounced dead, reports said.

Reports said Chauvin, the police officer, was convicted last month and would be imprisoned for 40 years.