George Floyd's family files civil rights lawsuit calling killings by police a 'public health crisis'

                                             Police men that killed George Floyd

Attorneys for the family of George Floyd  filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Wednesday against the city of Minneapolis and the police officers involved in his death, calling the killing part of "a public health crisis" in Black America.

Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed Black man, died May 25 after former officer Derek Chauvin used his leg to pin Floyd's neck to the ground for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin, 44, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.                         

All four ex-officers charged in Floyd's death amid protests It was not just the knee of officer Derek Chauvin on George's Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, but it was the knee of the entire Minneapolis Police Department on the neck of George Floyd that killed him," attorney Ben Crump said.

Chauvin held his knee on Floyd for 7 minutes and 46 seconds, prosecutors have told reporters, correcting the longer period listed in the initial criminal complaint.

"The City of Minneapolis has a history of policies, procedures and deliberate indifference that violates the rights of arrestees, particularly Black men, and highlights the need for officer training and discipline," Crump said.