Houston prosecutor suggests George Floyd may have been set up in 2004 arrest

Around 16 years before George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he may have been set up by a Houston police officer who arrested him for a minor drug offense, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg told The Wall Street Journal.

Floyd was arrested over what Ogg, Houston's top prosecutor, described as a "one-rock, $10 dollar crack buy" when he was still living in Houston in 2004. He served time in state jail for the offense.

After examining the case, Ogg now believes the arresting officer, Gerald Goines, "was likely lying," pointing to multiple red flags, including the fact that Goines was the only police witness. Plus, the deal was "very small time" and not the type of case her administration "would accept for charges." But the most significant cause for skepticism appears to be Goines' notorious reputation. Floyd's case was first flagged as part of a broader investigation into Goines' conduct after the narcotics officer was charged with murder last year and allegedly lied to obtain a search warrant for a drug raid in which two people were killed.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Goines has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and his criminal case is still pending — his attorney said Goines supports the calls for police reform sparked by Floyd's death, but that Ogg's findings are "nothing but a political press move."

Per the Journal, Ogg is considering expanding the review of Goines' cases in an effort to offer relief to those who may have been wrongfully accused, arrested, and convicted. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.