Roxie Washington, mother of George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna, speaks publicly for first time since Floyd’s death

When former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin made the obviously uncivilized and deadly decision to place his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest, May 25, he took away the ability for a 6-year-old named Gianna to ever see her father alive again.

The state of Minnesota on June 2 filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department.

Also on June 2, the Minneapolis City Council—all 12 members—issued a statement urging the state “to use its full weight to hold the Minneapolis Police Department accountable for any and all abuses of power and harms to our community and stand ready to aid in this process and full partners.”

The Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, who has been lambasted by President Donald Trump for being “weak,” among other things, said in a June 2 statement that “for years in Minneapolis, police chiefs and elected officials committed to change have been thwarted by police union protections and laws that severely limit accountability among police departments.

ROXIE WASHINGTON, the mother of George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna, left, speaks at a press conference in Minneapolis, June 2.