HOUSTON — Houston is remembering George Floyd, the man who died while he was in the custody of Minneapolis police. A white police officer was seen on camera pinning his knee on Floyd's neck. The video has ignited outrage across the country and heartache in Houston.
"They were doing what cops do these days you know, just killing black folks," said Rodney Floyd, George's brother.
Rodney and other family members in Houston aren't mincing words.
"This was clearly murder," said Tera Brown, George's cousin. "We want to see them arrested. We want to see them charged. We want to see them convicted."
They're fighting for justice while mourning a brother and cousin they loved.
"I'm just thinking about how amazing my brother was," said Philonise Floyd. "You know, he never did anything to nobody. Everybody loved my brother."
George grew up in Houston and was a star athlete at Jack Yates High School. Friends said he was the heart and soul of the Third Ward. He only left Houston a few years ago looking for a fresh start in Minnesota.
"He always felt like everybody got a chance here," said Courtney Ross, George's fiance. "You know he would tell his friends like come up to Minnesota man, you can, you can do it here, that you can get a job and you can start fresh and this is the place to do it."
Ross said George was a good man. He worked as a security guard at a Minneapolis bistro.
"He's definitely one of the most spiritual men that I've ever come across," Ross said.
Friends told KHOU 11 News George was a "gentle giant" and a "true gentleman." They say he didn't deserve to die the way he did.
"You have eyes, I have eyes," Rodney said. "You can see what you saw and I saw. Every person, black person in America, says the same thing because it don't happen to nobody else."
Black Lives Matter in Houston is organizing a protest and rally for Justice for George scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. in Discovery Green.
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