As protests continue across the country, new details of the memorial and funeral services for George Floyd have been revealed. During a news conference that revealed findings of an independent autopsy backed by his family, a family attorney announced that several memorials will be held throughout the week followed by a funeral service next week.
The Star Tribune reports that a Minneapolis memorial service will be held on Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m., with reporter Heather Brown stating that it will be held at North Central University. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at the service. A second memorial service will take place in North Carolina, the state where Floyd was born, on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. A specific location for the second service has not yet been announced.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Following the joint memorial services, there will be a public viewing in Houston, where Floyd was raised, on Monday, June 8, from 12 to 6 p.m. at The Fountain of Praise Church, Click 2 Houston reports. Floyd will be laid to rest in a private funeral service on June 9 at 11 a.m. According to Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center owner Bobby Swearington, he was “contacted by the family a day after Mr. Floyd passed away to conduct the services and facilitate the services for his celebration of life.” He added that they have had “an outpouring from support from so many people” who have “wanted to send carriages and doves and arrangements to the family.”
Floyd, 46, was killed on May 25 after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, with two other officers kneeling on his back and his legs, for nearly nine minutes. Handcuffed and not resisting arrest, Floyd cried out, “I can’t breathe” multiple times, though Chauvin failed to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck. Floyd was unconscious for nearly three minutes of the ordeal and was later pronounced dead.
On May 29, Chauvin was arrested and formally charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He has since been transferred to the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights, which is the highest custody level in Minnesota’s system. At this time, the three other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest and murder – Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao – have yet to be arrested or face any charges. The family attorney said that “we heard that they expect to charge those officers.”
