List of changes made due to the george floyd protests

George Floyd Protests: A Timeline

At least six people have been killed in violence connected to the protests that started after Mr. Floyd died in police custody.

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After the death of George Floyd on May 25, protests and unrest have rocked Minneapolis and other cities.

In cities across the United States, tens of thousands of people have swarmed the streets to express their outrage and sorrow during the day. That has descended into nights of unrest, with reports of shootings, looting and vandalism in some cities.

Since the death of Mr. Floyd, protests have erupted in at least 140 cities across the United States, and the National Guard has been activated in at least 21 states.

The police chief in Louisville, Ky., was fired after a restaurant owner was killed when police officers and National Guard troops shot toward protesters. And in Austin, Texas, the police chief said that a black protester who had been shot in the head by officers was in critical condition.

In St. Louis and Las Vegas, officers were shot and wounded, and in New York City and Buffalo, N.Y., they were injured after being struck by cars.

Here’s a timeline of the protests across the nation so far.

George Floyd dies in police custody.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died in Minneapolis on Monday after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer. Bystanders captured video of the officer behind a police car using his knee to pin Mr. Floyd by his neck. Mr. Floyd is heard repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe,” in the video.

The next day, the video was widely shared on social media and ultimately became a driving force for protests in Minneapolis.

Protests in Minneapolis begin, and the police use tear gas to break them up.

By Tuesday, the Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, had fired all four men involved in the arrest of Mr. Floyd. He also called for an F.B.I. investigation after the video showed that the official police account of the arrest had borne little resemblance to what actually occurred.

That night, hundreds of protesters flooded into the Minneapolis streets. Some demonstrators vandalized police vehicles with graffiti and targeted the precinct house where the four officers had been assigned, said John Elder, a police spokesman.

Protests also occurred in the city in the subsequent days. Officers used tear gas and fired rubber bullets into crowds. Some businesses, including restaurants and an auto-parts store, were set on fire.

Protests erupt in cities across the U.S., including Memphis and Los Angeles.

Demonstrators began organizing in other cities. In Memphis, a protest over the deaths of Mr. Floyd, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Ga., led the police to temporarily shut down a portion of a street.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Four defendants. Along with Mr. Chauvin, three other officers were accused of playing a role in Mr. Floyd’s death. Tou Thao, a veteran officer who was Mr. Chauvin’s partner, held back a group of bystanders. J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane helped pin down Mr. Floyd. The four men have been involved in several proceedings.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Mr. Chauvin’s criminal trial. In April 2021, a jury in state court found Mr. Chauvin, who is white, guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, he was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison; he has appealed his conviction.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Civil rights trial. In February, Mr. Kueng, Mr. Lane and Mr. Thao were found guilty of willfully violating Mr. Floyd’s constitutional rights in federal court. Mr. Lane was sentenced to two and a half years, Mr. Kueng to three and Mr. Thao to three years and half years in prison. Mr. Chauvin, who had also been charged with violating Mr. Floyd’s rights, reached a plea agreement in December 2021 and was later sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. His federal and state sentences are to be served concurrently.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

In Los Angeles, hundreds of protesters converged in the city’s downtown area to march around the Civic Center. A group of demonstrators broke off from the march and blocked the Route 101 freeway.

In St. Louis, a man was killed after protesters blocked Interstate 44, set fires and tried to loot a FedEx truck. In Chicago, six people were shot and one was killed that night.

The National Guard is mobilized in Minnesota.

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota activated the National Guard. The order came as the city asked for help after vandalism and fires broke out during demonstrations and as the Justice Department said a federal investigation into Mr. Floyd’s death was a top priority.

Mr. Walz later said that he had activated thousands of additional National Guard troops to send to Minneapolis but had declined the Army’s offer to deploy military police units.

“Let’s be very clear,” Mr. Walz said. “The situation in Minneapolis, is no longer, in any way, about the murder of George Floyd. It is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great cities.”

Former officer is arrested and charged in Mr. Floyd’s death.

The former Minneapolis police officer who pinned Mr. Floyd’s neck to the ground with his knee was arrested and was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The former officer, Derek Chauvin, 44, faces charges that carry a combined maximum 35-year sentence.

President Trump’s ‘looting’ and ‘shooting’ message raises tensions.

President Trump delivered an ultimatum to Minneapolis protesters on May 29 and suggested that the military could use armed force to suppress riots. On Twitter, Mr. Trump called the protesters “thugs” and said, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

He also criticized the city’s Democratic mayor.

“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City,” Mr. Trump said. “A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.”

Protests in Atlanta and New York bring destruction.

Hundreds of demonstrators poured into the streets near Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park, leaving behind smashed windows. Some climbed atop a large red CNN sign outside the media company’s headquarters and spray-painted messages on it.

That night, protesters also clashed with the police across Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, leaving officers and demonstrators injured. Some people threw bottles and debris at officers, who responded with pepper spray and arrests.

In Washington, a crowd gathered outside the White House, prompting the Secret Service to temporarily lock down the building. In Detroit, a 19-year-old man was killed when someone opened fire into a crowd of demonstrators, the police said. Mr. Trump moved to the underground bunker used in the past during terrorist attacks.

The authorities were investigating the fatal shooting of a federal officer, a contract security guard for the Department of Homeland Security, outside a federal courthouse in Oakland, Calif.

In Detroit, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot as he sat in a car when protesters took to the streets. And in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear instructed the State Police to investigate the death of a man who was shot and killed after gunfire broke out around midnight.

Minneapolis Mayor says peaceful protests have turned to ‘domestic terrorism.’

After four nights of chaos in Minneapolis, Mr. Frey called on people to stay home. “What started as largely peaceful protests for George Floyd have turned to outright looting and domestic terrorism in our region,” he said on Twitter.

He said people who broke the 8 p.m. curfew would be helping those who use crowds to prey on Minneapolis.

“We are now confronting white supremacists, members of organized crime, out-of-state instigators, and possibly even foreign actors to destroy and destabilize our city and our region,” he said.

In Indianapolis, a person was killed and three others injured after shots were fired at demonstrators.

Protests fill city streets again, and mayors order curfews.

During the day, hundreds of thousands of people joined largely peaceful demonstrations throughout the country, but cities reported hundreds of arrests as protesters clashed with the police and some areas were looted. The National Guard was deployed in more than two dozen states to assist overwhelmed police departments, and dozens of mayors extended curfews.

In Philadelphia, a huge peaceful demonstration outside the city’s art museum contrasted with the scene in West Philadelphia, where the police used pepper spray to repel looters. In Atlanta, two officers were fired for “excessive use of force” against two college students. In Minneapolis, about 200 protesters were arrested, and a man who drove a tanker truck toward a crowd was taken into police custody.

George Floyd’s brother visits the site where he died.

Terrence Floyd was the first member of Mr. Floyd’s family to visit the place where his brother died in Minneapolis.

He told the crowd that gathered around him that he was troubled by what he had seen in recent days.

“If I’m not over here wilding out, if I’m not over here blowing up stuff, if I’m not over here messing up my community, then what are y’all doing? What are y’all doing?” he said. “Do this peacefully, please.”

Two autopsies rule Mr. Floyd’s death a homicide.

The results from two autopsies completed on Mr. Floyd ruled that his death was a homicide. But the autopsies, one done by a government agency and the other by doctors working for Mr. Floyd’s family, differed over the specific causes of death and whether there were contributing factors beyond Mr. Chauvin’s kneeling on his neck.

According to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office, Mr. Floyd died of “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” The office also said that Mr. Floyd suffered from heart disease, was high on fentanyl and had recently used methamphetamines.

The other autopsy, conducted by doctors hired by the Floyd family, said Mr. Floyd died not only because the officer pressed his knee on his neck, but also because the other officers helped hold him down. That autopsy also concluded that Mr. Floyd “had no underlying medical problem that caused or contributed to his death.”

30 days that shook America: Since the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement has already changed the country

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Four weeks after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, thousands of people across the US and the world have taken to the streets to demand justice, condemn racism, and speak out against police brutality.

The protests have been historic: Overwhelmingly peaceful and highly diverse crowds have been gathering in city centers and in front of government institutions to demand change. And slowly, it appears to be working.

Here is a roundup of some concrete changes that have happened as a direct result of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.

Four days after killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck during an arrest, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder. This was later updated to second-degree murder.

While Chauvin could still face other charges, it is unlikely that he will be accused of first-degree murder as prosecutors would need to prove premeditation, intent, and motive, according to The Associated Press (AP).

According to the state’s sentencing guidelines, second-degree unintentional murder carries a recommended sentencing of 12 years in prison. The maximum sentence for the charge is 40 years in prison.

The three other police officers present at Floyd’s arrest have also been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Former police officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng were arrested over a week after Floyd’s death.

A police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, has been fired more than three months after her death.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency room technician, was killed after police broke into her home and shot her eight times. They were investigating an alleged drug ring but found no drugs in the home.

Brett Hankison, one of three officers involved in the shooting, was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department on June 23.

The other two officers have been placed on administrative leave, according to CNN.

In a letter addressed to Hankison, Police Chief Robert Schroeder wrote: «I find your conduct a shock to the conscience. I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion.»

Taylor’s name has been prominent in the Black Lives Matter movement marches.

Lonita Baker, the attorney acting on behalf of Taylor’s family, said last week that the family was «excited to get this news and are encouraged by it.»

«This is just one step though. We’re waiting for the other officers to be held accountable and for additional charges to be filed but this is a step in the right direction,» Baker said.

Minneapolis lawmakers vowed to disband the city’s police department less than two weeks after Floyd’s death.

«Our commitment is to end policing as we know it and to recreate systems of public safety that actually keep us safe,» she added.

The announcement came a day after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was booed at a rally for refusing to promise protesters that he would defund the city’s police.

The council has a veto-proof majority in its decision, according to The New York Times, though comprehensive plans have not yet been approved.

On June 11, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also pledged comprehensive police reform. He told reporters that the proposals will be aimed at police brutality, grants for rebuilding, and more transparency, according to CNN.

Minneapolis isn’t the only city making changes. Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City also pledged to move funding from the city’s police department toward youth and social services.

In a statement published on June 7, de Blasio wrote: «These will be the first of many steps my Administration will take over the next 18 months to rebuild a fairer City that profoundly addresses injustice and disparity.»

«While we have taken many steps to reform policing in this city, there is clearly more work to do to strengthen trust between officers and the New Yorkers they serve,» he added.

Lawmakers also signed a bill that will repeal the 50-A legislation — a decades-old measure that protected police officers from being held accountable and allowed records of officers to remain secret.

Officials in Washington, DC, and states including California, Nevada, and Texas, have also banned chokeholds and reviewed police reforms.

More than a dozen police departments in California have said they will ban chokeholds — a move also supported by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In Dallas, Texas, city officials banned chokeholds and any other airway-restricting techniques, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The Reno, Nevada, police department also announced it would ban chokeholds and change guidelines on de-escalation, which will include giving persons «other warning options» before using deadly force, The Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, Washington, DC passed legislation to ban police chokeholds and accelerate the public release of police body-camera footage.

Democrats in Congress have also unveiled sweeping legislation on police reform, including banning chokeholds and forcing federal police officers to use body and dashboard cameras.

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which was introduced in the second week of June, also eliminates unannounced police raids as «no-knock warrants» and makes it easier to prosecute police for misconduct, according to the BBC.

The bill was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, alongside other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

President Donald Trump has called the proposals a threat to «law and order.»

Attorney General Bill Barr also said that he believes the law enforcement system is not «systematically racist.»

«I think one of the best examples is the military. The military used to be an explicitly racist institution. And now I think it’s in the vanguard of bringing the races together and providing equal opportunity. I think law enforcement has been going through the same process,» Barr was quoted as saying in The Guardian.

On top of this, a new database has been set up to collect video footage that documents police violence at the demonstrations across the country.

A team of activists, which include lawyer T. Gregg Doucette and mathematician Jason Miller, put together the public spreadsheet which contains more than 500 incidents of police brutality that occurred at different protests, according to Slate.

Doucette and Miller say they made the database to prevent police from arguing that incidents of violence at protests are one-offs.

The spreadsheet also helps people locate videos of police violence in their area.

Another significant impact of the demonstrations has been the toppling of several confederate and slavery-linked statues around the world.

Confederate and imperialist statues around the world have either been vandalized or pulled down during the demonstrations or as a direct result of them.

On June 10, protesters in Richmond, Virginia, used ropes to pull down a vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus. They did the same to a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Other statues of Columbus were also removed at the Minnesota State Capitol and in Boston.

In Mobile, Alabama, the council removed a statue of Raphael Semmes, who was an officer in the Confederate navy during the American Civil War. It had been there for 120 years.

Mayor Sandy Stimpson said in a statement: «To be clear: This decision is not about Raphael Semmes, it is not about a monument and it is not an attempt to rewrite history.

«Moving this statue will not change the past. It is about removing a potential distraction so we may focus clearly on the future of our city.»

Meanwhile, protesters in the English city of Bristol tore down the statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston and dumped it in a river.

2020 George Floyd Protests Event

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2020 George Floyd Protests

Overview

The 2020 George Floyd Protests, refers to the riots that occurred across the United States which were sparked by the death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer pinned him to the ground with his knee. The resulting unrest in the area included widespread looting and property damage, with numerous stores becoming the target of looting and arson.

Background

Death of George Floyd

On May 25th, 2020, Minneapolis Police Department officers attempted to arrest George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, in Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the arrest, officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for at least seven minutes, pressing him against the ground, while Floyd repeatedly said «I can’t breathe» before becoming unresponsive. Floyd was then pronounced dead at the hospital.

On the following day, several videos of the scene recorded by bystanders went viral online. A recording posted by Facebook [1] user Darnella Frazier received over 1.4 million views, 28,000 reactions and 47,000 shares in four days (screenshot shown below).

Start of the Protests

The protests in Minneapolis started on May 26th, the day following George Lloyd’s death. On that day, demonstrators gathered at the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, with some of the demonstrators vandalizing the precinct with spray paint, throwing rocks at police squad cars and smashing the glass door of the precinct. [2] A chemical irritant was used by police to disperse the protestors. [3]

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Developments

On Wednesday, May 27th, police used rubber bullets and chemical irritants against the protestors. [4] That day, a fire was set to an AutoZone location near the Third Precinct building and to a Cub Foods store crowd of at least 100 people looted a Target store, stealing televisions, clothes and groceries. [5] Videos of the looting emerged online, with a video of a Minnesota resident attempting to block the entrance to the store and stab the looters going viral as Target Jennifer.

Elderly Resident tried to stop the rioters from looting Target in Minnesota pic.twitter.com/YSWjsW5VZI

The riots escalated further on Thursday May 28th, with multiple looting, arson and property damage incidents reported across the Twin Cities area. [6] The looters and arsonists targeted supermarkets and fast-food restaurants, with Wendy’s [7] and McDonald’s [8] restaurants being set to fire. Multiple recordings of the unrest emerged on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and iFunny, including livestreams of illegal activities being committed (example videos shown below).

On May 28th, a state of emergency was declared in the city by the mayor Jacob Frey, with 500 Minnesota National Guard being deployed to the Twin Cities area. [9]

On May 29th, a curfew was imposed for the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. [17] On the same day, ex-officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. [18]

Spread to Other Cities

Starting on May 28th, protests and riots spread to a number of other US cities. On May 28th in California, hundreds of protestors blocked a Los Angeles freeway and shattered windows of police cruisers. In Memphis, protesters gather outside of a police precinct, with the police responding by blocking the main city street. [10]

On weekend May 30th and 31st, the riots erupted in a number of US cities, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Cleveland and other areas. Lootings, arson, assault and other illegal activities were reported. As of May 30th, 2020, a total of 25 cities across 16 states imposed curfews. [19] National Guard was activated in nearly a dozen states, including California, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Washington. [20] As of June 1st, 2020, 11 deaths liked to the demonstrations were recorded, [21] including shootings and driving fatalities.

CNN Reporter Arrest

On May 29th, CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez was arrested during a live television report in the early hours of the morning. The clip of Jimenez being arrested received a significant spread online (shown below), with viral reposts on Twitter, [12] Reddit [13] and other online platforms. The reporter was released on the same day. [14]

Minnesota police arrest CNN reporter and camera crew as they report from protests in Minneapolis https://t.co/oZdqBti776 pic.twitter.com/3QbeTjD5ed

Officer Jacob Pederson Rumor

On May 27th, a recording of a man wearing a gas mask and holding an umbrella smashing the windows of the AutoZone location near the Third Precinct building was uploaded to YouTube and subsequently removed (reupload shown below). The smashing of the windows was the first known act of illegal activity during the riots and is assumed to be their starting point.

In the recording, the man smashes the windows with a hammer and attempts to leave the scene when he is approached by a protester, who questions him. Another person then asks if the perpetrator was a police officer.

On May 28th, Twitter [15] user @GypsyEyedBeauty made a post in which she surmised that Officer Jacob Pederson of the St. Paul Police Department was the culprit, attaching screenshots of a conversation with the officer’s ex-wife as proof. On the same day, Saint Paul Police Department tweeted [16] that they investigated the allegation and that Pederson was not the man in the video.

Police Kneelings

On June 1st, 2020, white parishioners at the Cuney Homes in the Third Ward in Houston, Texas, kneeled in front of a group of black parishioners, praying for forgiveness for «years and years of systematic racism» (video shown below). [22]

Starting on June 1st, 2020, a number of occasions where US police officers kneeled to show solidarity with the protesters were recorded and reported by media. [23] [24] For example, a May 31st video of police officers kneeling before the protesters in Portland received over 155,000 views in one day (shown below, left).

Online Reactions

The protests became a viral subject of discussions and posts online, with posts about the events appearing on all major social media platforms (meme examples shown below). Memes imagining supermarket and fast-food industry employees working normally during the riots gained particular popularity.

Donald Trump’s «When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts» Tweet

On May 29th, 2020, Donald Trump tweeted [10] that he was intending to the National Guard to the city unless the mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey manages to quell the riots. He followed up the tweet with another post [11] saying, «….These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!» (shown below). The tweet was then flagged by Twitter for glorifying violence, preventing users from liking or sharing it.

Related Memes

Roof Koreans

Roof Koreans is a slang term referring to Korean-American business owners who defended their storefronts during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Images of the shopkeepers standing on rooftops wielding firearms were widely publicized in news media, earning them a reputation for being bold and courageous. During the 2020 Minneapolis protests, the meme was an uptick in references online due to armed small business owners coming to protect their property during the riots.

George Floyd Protests Inspire Fresh Scrutiny of Policing in Europe, Too

A history of discrimination has been brought to the surface. But so far, charges of systemic racism have been met mostly with official denial.

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By Adam Nossiter and Constant Méheut

PARIS — The killing of George Floyd has resonated in Europe, drawing thousands of demonstrators into the streets of cities like Paris, London and Berlin. Statues of colonizers and slave traders have been pulled down or defaced.

The message has been one of solidarity with protesters in the United States — but also a call to look at racism at home.

The protesters’ cries have brought to the surface a history of discrimination, especially regarding police tactics, which are now being vigorously challenged in countries like France, Germany and Britain. Demonstrators have invoked the names of past victims of police violence in their own countries, while demanding that institutional racism be redressed.

So far, no matter where charges of systemic racism have been leveled, they have been met mostly with firm official denial.

“France, the national police, the gendarmerie, they are not racist,” the French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, insisted in Parliament on Tuesday.

Yet available statistics, and the experience of Europe’s minority populations, often tell a different story, one that has proliferated with successive waves of immigration — like Britain’s Windrush Generation, which arrived from the Caribbean after World War II, or the recent influx of nearly a million asylum seekers to Germany.

In France, the problems are perhaps most acute, given a longstanding failure to fully integrate Muslim and African populations from its former colonies. The French police, a largely white force, routinely target African and Arab youths for identity checks and have a long track record of abusive arrests as well as deaths of minorities in custody.

“The list is too long,” Assa Traoré told a crowd of demonstrators outside a Paris courthouse last week, reciting the names of those who died in encounters with the police.

Her brother, Adama Traoré, was one of them. He died in 2016 after being arrested by three police officers, one of whom later acknowledged that they had placed “the weight of all of our bodies” on him. No charges have ever been filed in his case, despite four years of investigations and dueling autopsies.

“Justice for Adama!” shouted the crowd of some 20,000 people who gathered to hear Ms. Traoré speak, filling the sprawling plaza in numbers that surprised the French government, which had sought a ban.

The demonstrators themselves said it: America’s turmoil has erased an inhibition in France. “We needed what happened in the U.S. to make it happen here,” said Junior Tidiane, a 20-year-old student. “The influence of the United States is vital.”

Despite its own troubles, the United States has civil rights law that can sometimes be used to prosecute abuses against members of minority groups. But in France, the authorities have long made it a deliberate practice not to keep statistics of almost any kind based on race or religion, ostensibly to forge a common national identity.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Four defendants. Along with Mr. Chauvin, three other officers were accused of playing a role in Mr. Floyd’s death. Tou Thao, a veteran officer who was Mr. Chauvin’s partner, held back a group of bystanders. J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane helped pin down Mr. Floyd. The four men have been involved in several proceedings.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Mr. Chauvin’s criminal trial. In April 2021, a jury in state court found Mr. Chauvin, who is white, guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, he was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison; he has appealed his conviction.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Civil rights trial. In February, Mr. Kueng, Mr. Lane and Mr. Thao were found guilty of willfully violating Mr. Floyd’s constitutional rights in federal court. Mr. Lane was sentenced to two and a half years, Mr. Kueng to three and Mr. Thao to three years and half years in prison. Mr. Chauvin, who had also been charged with violating Mr. Floyd’s rights, reached a plea agreement in December 2021 and was later sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. His federal and state sentences are to be served concurrently.

Understand the Trials Stemming From George Floyd’s Death

Officially, there are no minorities, only French citizens.

“Don’t forget who we are: the French people, unified” in “republican liberty and equality,” the interior minister, Christophe Castaner, said at a news conference on Monday.

“The police, the gendarmes, they are the guardians of our republic,” said Mr. Castaner, often referred to in the French media as “France’s Top Cop” because he directs the national police force. He said that “there are no racist institutions, there are only republican institutions,” and that bad actors should not be allowed to “throw opprobrium on our institutions.”

Germany’s interior minister, Horst Seehofer, took a similar stance. When Saskia Esken, a leader of the Social Democrats, demanded action against “latent racism” in the country’s police departments, Mr. Seehofer rejected the notion as “completely incomprehensible.”

The police union and some other conservative politicians also insisted that instances of racism in the ranks were isolated, though recent federal anti-discrimination legislation suggests otherwise.

“The Americans have not really solved the issue of race discrimination since the abolition of slavery,” said Friedrich Merz, one of three conservatives hoping to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel next year. “In Germany, we don’t have the same problem — and there is no latent racism in the police, either.”

But Germany’s record is, in fact, blighted.

A rejected Sudanese asylum seeker, Aamir Ageeb, died while being deported on a Lufthansa flight in 1999. Police officers had tied his arms to the armrests, bound his legs and put a motorcycle helmet on his head. When Mr. Ageeb screamed, officers pressed down on his torso and head for minutes. His autopsy later revealed “death by asphyxiation due to massive exposure to violence.”

In the summer of 2018, a Syrian refugee, Amad Ahmad, was kept in a German prison even after prosecutors confirmed that he had been wrongly detained. He died in September that year after setting his own cell on fire.

But neither Germany’s interior ministry nor its federal police collect statistics on deaths in custody, and there are no representative studies systematically analyzing racism in the police.

“We don’t have the same history as the United States,” said Klaus Weinhauer, a history professor and police specialist at Bielefeld University. “But we should not allow problems like racism also in its institutionalized forms to grow by not having an honest debate about them.”

In Britain, the protests have revived anger over police killings of members of minority groups, among them Mark Duggan, who was shot and killed in 2011 by an officer in north London. A jury found that Mr. Duggan was unarmed at the time, but that he had been lawfully killed. A court rejected an appeal by his mother. The police had said they believed he was planning an attack.