The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has recommended giving a posthumous pardon to George Floyd, after it was found that his 2004 arrest in Houston involved a police officer who was later charged with murder and tampering a government record.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died in May 2020 after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. The incident was caught on camera, leading to worldwide protests against police brutality, and earlier this year, Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter.
In 2004, Floyd was arrested in Houston by Gerald Goines, then an officer in the Houston Police Department. Goines was involved in a deadly 2019 raid that was later determined to be based on false statements he made under oath, and he has since been indicted on charges of felony murder and tampering with a government document. In a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Goines was the "sole fact witness against Mr. Floyd in the alleged sale of a $10 crack rock," and Floyd was prosecuted "based on Officer Goines' testimony alone."
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Since Goines' indictment, at least two people convicted because of his testimony have been exonerated. Goines is "not credible," Ogg said, adding, "we do not support the integrity of Mr. Floyd's conviction and agree these circumstances warrant a posthumous pardon." It is now up to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to decide whether to grant this clemency.
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