A new documentary that deals with George Floyd’s death and the riots and subsequent trials of four Minneapolis police officers presents a powerfully moving and much needed reassessment of the events that inflamed so much racial hatred around the world. The documentary relies on actual body cam footage, which was not allowed in evidence dring the trial of the police officers, to tell a quite different story of the arrest of Floyd and his continued belligerent resistance as police officers attempted to put him into a squad car. It’s not pleasant to watch. Floyd was scared and pleading to be released, but 
he clearly resisted being arrested and transported. The body cam videos show that the four police officers displayed no racist behavior and showed a calm patience throughout the encounter. It compares sworn testimony from the former Minneapolis police chief who denied officers were trained in the restraint technique used to subdue Floyd with evidence from police training manuals that demonstrated the technique was an approved method for dealing with prisoners. Copies of the medical examiner’s report recorded no evidence that Floyd died from asphyxiation or neck injuries suffered while he was on the ground. They do, however, reveal the presence of several drugs in Floyd’s body which reportedly could have been lethal doses. Before the trials began, the Minneapolis City Council paid out $27 million to settle a civil case with the Floyd family. That action alone may have sealed the convictions of four cops.
An eerie gloom draped the Twin Cities during the post-riot months. If the cops were not found guilty of murder, the city could be torched again. The jurors knew that. City officials knew that. The governor and the National Guard knew that. Outside agitators including Maxine Waters and Al Sharpton repeatedly stirred racial animosity as they demanded “justice for George Floyd” while mobs shouted “say his name” as they roamed through the city. Could impartial juries be found that could bring back anything other than guilty verdicts? Who cared! The trials would remain in Minneapolis. The lack of political leadership from the governor to the mayor had allowed early protests to balloon into billion dollar riots and what followed was a mockery of justice.
So many lives, businesses and careers were ruined to satisfy the narrative of white oppression. The Fall of Minneapolis is a tragic story but it’s also a necessary antidote challenging the prevailing myth that George Floyd was a martyr.
You can watch the documentary through this link and decide for yourself: https://www.thefallofminneapolis.com
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