Talk:George Floyd

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Frequently asked questions

Q1: Does it have to say "white" police officer?

A1: Yes, because almost all reliable sources emphasize the significance of this fact.

Q2: I read some information on the web that isn't in this article!

A2: When proposing anything to be added to the article you need to cite a reliable source; secondary sources are generally preferred over primary.

Q3: This article is biased (for/against), or (whitewashes/blames), (Floyd/police)!

A3: See our neutral point of view policy. Complaints of bias must be accompanied by specific concerns or suggestions for change. Vague, general statements don't help.

Q4: Why is this article calling it a murder instead of a death/killing?

A4: As a person was formally convicted for murder in a court of law, the article uses the term "murder", in line with the community guidance at WP:MURDERS.

Q5: Wasn't Floyd killed near a store called Cub Foods, not Cup Foods?

A5: The store is Cup Foods, and is not affiliated with the Cub Foods store chain.

Q6: Why does the article use such a graphic photo? Isn't it in poor taste?

A6: The lead image was determined by the community in a formal Request for Comment process. The RfC reached an "overwhelming consensus" that "...the image, despite it being traumatizing, should be kept per WP:NOTCENSORED, as it is an appropriate representation of the topic."

Q7: Why was my request or comment removed?

A7: Because of the frequency of meritless and disruptive requests, any further requests to describe Floyd's murder using other terms (e.g. "death", "overdose") or to change the name of the article accordingly will be removed without consideration, unless the request complies with all relevant Wikipedia guidelines and essays, including WP:Requested moves, WP:Common name, WP:Article titles, WP:Naming conventions (violence and deaths), and WP:Reliable sources. Anyone removing such requests should include a link to this FAQ in their edit summary.

Q8: Why do we not call the protests riots?

A8: Because most reliable sources call them protests, not riots.

Q9: Didn't he die of a drug overdose?

A9: No, while fentanyl was a contributory factor, his death certificate lists his cause of death as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression".

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This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (center, color, defense, realize, traveled) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

This article was nominated for deletion on 31 May 2020. The result of the discussion was redirect to Death of George Floyd.

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Harrison, Stephen (June 9, 2020). "How Wikipedia Became a Battleground for Racial Justice". Slate.

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Edit cause of death

The officer involved was not the cause of death. Official bodycam footage of George Floyd's death shows Floyd taking a fentanyl amount that could kill a horse. The current page is spreading misinformation and causing more people to hate on officers. The position shown on the bodycam video is not lethal. Please update this outdated page, thank you!. Somerandomblueyfan70 (talk) 02:58, 11 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See Talk:Murder of George Floyd/FAQ#Q4. —Bagumba (talk) 04:03, 11 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

They filmed him taking drugs, source? Slatersteven (talk) 09:28, 11 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

"Death of George Floyd - Official Bodycam Footage" -Police Activity Youtube. When George was in the car freaking out, he is seen slipping a thing of fentanyl under his tongue. Reports show that there was enough fentanyl to kill a horse. It was indeed a suicide. Somerandomblueyfan70 (talk) 18:52, 11 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Per WP:RSPYT:

Most videos on YouTube are anonymous, self-published, and unverifiable, and should not be used as a reference.

Your opinion conflicts with his death certificate (see Talk:Murder of George Floyd/FAQ#Q9). —Bagumba (talk) 19:23, 11 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

"I Can't Breathe"

There seems to be an attribution mix-up in this article. The words "I can't breathe" were actually uttered by Eric Garner when he was murdered by police in 2014. HarmonicSphere (talk) 13:20, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

They have been uttered by a number of black people killed by police officers, including Floyd. Slatersteven (talk) 13:30, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 19 July 2025

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

A change needs to be made stating that he was not murdered and died of an overdose. 2607:3C40:111C:41E0:15A1:D1A5:6AE3:17FD (talk) 17:56, 19 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. EvergreenFir (talk) 18:05, 19 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This is already covered by the FAQ. People ask the same thing over and over, and maybe one or two of them even believe it. If there was anything to support this then we would have found it by now and changed the article accordingly. This hasn't happened because the sources do not support it. 2+2=4, no matter how many times people ask for it to equal 5. DanielRigal (talk) 18:09, 19 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Reverting manner of death sections

This page gets many requests to alter the manner of death, from "murder"/"neck compression" to something else, usually "drug overdose". This is obviously unsupported by the body of reliable sources. Rather than fill this talk page and its archives with the many requests to change the manner of death, can we decide by consensus to revert them with an edit summary linking the FAQ? Some such requests are already being reverted. The same can be said for Talk:Murder of George Floyd, but I figured I'd go one at a time. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 20:54, 19 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds good to me. - Shearonink (talk) 14:10, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Reflection

BBC, The Guardian and Warri Voice Online - all reliable sources - articulated that Floyd's death was a result of "the pandemic of racism" in America. I have added them and they should not be reverted. Babanababa (talk) 03:06, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Here are the sources (1) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52928304 (2) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/06/george-floyd-plight-reflected-burden-of-being-black-america (3) https://www.warrivoice.com/2020/06/black-lives-matter-killing-of-george.html?m=1 Babanababa (talk) 03:14, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

They're writing news, not an encyclopedia entry. Sumanuil. _{(talk to me)} 04:12, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I would not be against a subsection of the "Legacy" section that included similar content, so long as it was written in an encyclopedic tone and proportionally presented the various ways in which the best available sources (ideally academics) have reflected on the meaning of Floyd's death. I reverted Babanababa's good-faith contribution in part because it failed to do these things, but in principle the sources they've provided could be a first step toward a solid expansion of the article. Generalrelative (talk) 04:27, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I disagree this adds anything, also it would need attribution, even if it was added. As well as is Warri voice even an RS?, in fact its hard to know where to start. Slatersteven (talk) 09:35, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Babanababa is a sock. Girth Summit _(blether) 15:20, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Then they need banning. Slatersteven (talk) 15:21, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Well, EvergreenFir blocked them, and I requested at meta that the account be globally locked, as we do as standard for socks of this master - will that do? Girth Summit _(blether) 15:51, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Much appreciated. Generalrelative (talk) 17:50, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Missing context -- Fatal level of fentanyl, "I can't breathe"

How is this not mentioned anywhere in the article? This context is plainly relevant, and extremely well-documented by reliable sources.

"According to the documents, Floyd had 11 ng/mL of fentanyl in his blood, a dose that could have been justified an overdose verdict had his death occurred in different circumstances....Baker told investigators that: "If he [Floyd] were found dead at home alone and no other apparent causes, this could be acceptable to call an OD [overdose]. Deaths have been certified with levels of 3. [...] That is a fatal level of fentanyl under normal circumstances."[1]
“So in your opinion,” Nelson asked, “both the heart disease as well as the history of hypertension and the drugs that were in his system played a role in Mr. Floyd’s death?” “In my opinion, yes,” Baker said." [2]
"Here, context matters. Dr. Baker told prosecutors that if Mr. Floyd had been 'found dead at home alone' with 'no other apparent causes', they wrote, it could have been acceptable to determine that Mr. Floyd died of an overdose because of the relatively high levels of fentaly found in his blood collected at the hospital." [3]
"Writing this month in the conservative magazine the American Spectator, Parry focused on Floyd’s erratic behavior, his early complaints of breathing problems and the findings that he suffered from coronary artery disease and had a potentially fatal concentration of fentanyl in his blood."[4]

Stonkaments (talk) 07:58, 24 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Many sources, including that last source from The LA Times, also mention Floyd's erratic behavior with the police that day, as well as the fact that he complained of feeling claustrophobic in the police car and said “I can’t breathe" at least six times well before he was pinned to the ground. This is all important context that should be included in the article. Stonkaments (talk) 08:09, 24 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Read the FAQ, and the article, where this is already discussed. Meters (talk) 08:19, 24 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Resisting arrest

Do we need to qualify the claim that Floyd struggled with officers or otherwise physically resisted arrest with "police allege", or can we state it in wikivoice? The body cam and security recordings make it pretty obvious (and are worth viewing, for anyone who hasn't seen the full unedited videos), but of course we prefer secondary sources here. And we do have many reliable secondary sources that plainly state that Floyd struggled against the officers and resisted arrest:

AP News: "Floyd said over and over that he was claustrophobic as he struggled to avoid being forced into the squad car. One officer can be heard cursing Floyd on body camera footage as he braced himself against the vehicle and arched his body. At one point, Floyd threw his upper body out of the car, and officers tried to push him back in." [5]
BBC: "It was when officers tried to put Mr Floyd in their squad car that a struggle ensued." [6]
CBC: "Body camera footage made public from two Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's arrest captured a panicked and fearful Floyd pleading with the officers in the minutes before his death, saying 'I'm not a bad guy!' as they tried to wrestle him into a squad car. "I'm not that kind of guy," Floyd says as he struggles against the officers." [7]
ABC: "The officers pull Floyd from the car. He struggles as the two officers try to handcuff him. 'Stop resisting man,' one officer tells Floyd. 'I'm not,' Floyd replies...The officers take Floyd across the street as he continues to cry. Another struggle ensues as they try to get him into the squad car. He protests, saying he's claustrophobic. The struggle continues for some time." [8]

Stonkaments (talk) 17:56, 24 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]