The death of George Floyd, an African-American man, took place in Minneapolis (Minnesota) on 25 May 2020. Floyd died after policeman Derek Chauvin leaned on Floyd's neck with his knee for more than eight minutes, while it was cuffed with his belly on the street. After Floyd became unconscious after six minutes, Chauvin held his knee on Floyd's neck for almost another three minutes. Floyd was then transported in an ambulance to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
Floyd's death was recorded by bystanders, and broadcast live on Facebook Live. This caught the attention of the American media and was the direct cause of the protests after the death of George Floyd that were held the following days in Minneapolis and other cities worldwide.
While Floyd was held by the policeman, he mentioned the words: "I can't breath". These words are used by demonstrators and together with the words 'black lives matter' form the slogan for the protests.